Co-op Field Trip: Pioneer Living History Museum

On September 8, our co-op had it's first field trip of the school year.  We went to the Pioneer Living History Museum in North Phoenix.  The kids had a blast learning about Arizona History, especially during the pioneer years, when settlers were just starting to move into the Arizona territory.  The wild west gun show was a highlight, as was the special exhibit on Civil War artifacts and of course the hay maze!

Co-op in Review: September 1, 2016

This week in co-op, our time together started with a service project.  The kids decorated cards and bags of Lifesavers to be donated to first responders in our community!  This week in our Tapestry classes, the kids discussed the second term of President Thomas Jefferson.  The younger classes focused on learning about the three branches of government, while the older kids focused their attention on the judicial branch, the Supreme Court and our first Supreme Court Justice, John Marshall who served in this position for over 3 decades.   The Dialectic class learned how to draw in a grid system.  The Upper Grammar class made trioramas of the branches of government.  While the Lower Grammar class made trees illustrating the three branches of government.  The Five in a Row class ready the book, "Make Way for Ducklings."  It's the classic story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide that pond at Boston Commons would be a great place to raise their family of ducklings!  They then had fun making duck crafts and doing duck activities together!

Co-op in Review: August 25, 2016

Week 4 of our co-op year brings us to the best land deal in all of American (maybe world?) history:  The Louisiana Purchase.  It was a deal that almost didn't happen, but thanks to Jefferson's negotiators, and the fact that Napoleon was desperate for money in order to fight the British, it happened and the United States instantly doubled in size!  The older kids also studied the Jefferson presidency, his administration, his character and his religious beliefs.  While the younger kids studied the Lewis and Clark expedition, which was commissioned by Jefferson to explore the newly acquired lands.  The Dialectic class made model canoes, like those that would have been used by Lewis and Clark. The Upper Grammar class made board games and played a Lewis and Clark adventure game, and they also made field journals, like the Lower Grammar class.  The Lower Grammar class also made some awesome moccasins.  The Five in a Row class read the book, "Library Lion."  They then made cute lion faces out of paper plates.