Field Trip to the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

On Thursday, September 22, our co-op took it's first field trip of the school year.  We went to Arizona State University to spend the morning with some super-smart history experts at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.  Kendra was our hostess, she's the outreach coordinator for the Center. She and the rest of the staff are very passionate and knowledgeable about middle-European history.  Kendra filled the room with items and artifacts relating to the Middle Ages--many of them from her own collection.  She even brought in her very own Medieval-themed wedding dress.  The kids were able to try on dresses and capes.  They were also able to try on full sets of (very heavy!) chain mail and helmets.  They were able to practice writing with quill pens, color pictures, sword fight and ask questions of the very friendly staff. Finally, one of the staff members brought in a working ballista and the kids were able to take turns firing rockets at a target of stacked plastic cups.  Wow, it was a great morning of hands-on learning.  Thanks to everyone at the ACMR--you were fantastic!!

Co-op in Review: September 15, 2011

This week, both the Upper Grammar and Lower Grammar classes finished up their amazing castle projects.  Last week, the kids cut and painted all of the parts for their castles.  This week, they were busy assembling, gluing, decorating and putting on the final touches.  The castles look awesome, the kids had a blast making them and they will have even more fun playing with them at home!  It was a big project, it was a lot of work, and we all learned that perseverance pays off!  Downstairs, the preschool kids were busy reading the cute and classic book, "Are You My Mother."  It's the story of a little bird who leaves his nest while his mother is away and goes on a search for her--finally finding her and returning to her loving care.  The kids then played a game where they matched up mommy and baby animals, colored an animal match up and then made adorable bird's nests with a bird in them.

Co-op in Review: September 8, 2011

This week, both the Upper and Lower Grammar classes started a two-week long project.  They are building castles.  During this time in history, castles were being built throughout Europe to protect families, royalty and other groups of people from invaders.  Our castles are being modeled after the castles of medieval Europe.  But, instead of stone our castle's towers are constructed out of pint-sized cartons and the battlements are made out of the sides of cereal boxes!  Both classes completed several key steps in making their castles today.  First, the kids painted the bases that the castles will be mounted to.  Then, they made the corner towers and painted and cut the battlements.  Next week, the castles will be assembled and the finishing touches will be added!  The kids are very excited to see the finished product!  While a major construction project was going on upstairs, the Five in a Row kids downstairs were reading the book, "Here Are My Hands".  This rhyming, chant-like story teaches kids all about the parts of their body and what they do.  The kids then had fun doing activities, including making beautiful handprint hanging art.

Co-op in Review: September 1, 2011

Vikings!  This week, both Upper and Grammar classes learned all about these brutal invaders from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.  The Vikings, or Northmen were content to live and farm in their native land until a population boom forced them to explore and conquer new lands--England, mainland Europe and even Italy.  The classes talked about some of the most famous Vikings, discussed their exploration, trade and invasion routes and discussed their long term impact on Europe.  Viking descendants are alive today and the even the British royal family of today is of Viking heritage.   The Upper Grammar class made the type of hats that we traditionally associate with the Vikings--the vicious looking horned helmets.  But, they also learned that these were not the hats that the Vikings wore in battle or in every day life.  They were used solely for religious ceremonies.  The Lower Grammar class did a Viking reenactment--which they loved.  They then made and learned how to use a sundial--a very important navigational tool for seafaring explorers!  Downstairs, our preschoolers read the book, "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food".  The kids then got busy making dinosaur fossils out of dough, they also made delicious dinosaur egg nests out of crispy noodles and chocolate and finally they made beautifully decorated dinosaurs out of the letter "D".  It was a Dino-Good-Time!