English Civil War Co-op

We had a great first Co-op of the 2013-14 school year!! We started off by studying the English Civil War. 
The first thing I had the kids do was just shout out anything that they could remember about the English Civil War - who was involved, what happened and then I wrote these facts down on the whiteboard and used symbols and stick figures to further enhance our discussion! I was amazed at how much the kids knew and how many of them really understood why the people in England revolted. I love this kind of discussion with the kids!! 

Next, I had the kids get into random groups of 4 or 5. Several of the activities were from this resource. In the first activity, they had to take on a role from a role card and then make 6 different decisions based on their role. They were given enough background that they needed to decide if they would support the King or the Revolution...They had to decide what was most important and then give the reasons for their decisions.
We got back together afterward and discussed their choices.

Next, I had the kids do a media exercise. They were in pairs. One of the pair had a picture of King Charles and the other a blank piece of paper. The student with the picture was to describe the painting and give as much detail as possible. We then go together and talked about how King Charles was portrayed in the picture and how today it is much different because of the internet, television and photography. The public could not be deceived about how someone looks.

Finally, they stayed in their pairs and did an exercise on varying perspectives on who Cromwell really was. They came up with some describing words for him based on some quotes about him that were written at the time. We then made a list on the whiteboard. There were words like a megalomaniac and then honourable and humble... We talked about differences in perspective. It was a great discussion!
It was a great morning!!

In the afternoon, our Art mom did a great job of leading the kids through learning about Monet and then beginning their waterlilies bridge paintings. She had several short videos to start with, read from the Usborne Art Book and then had the kids paint with the same techniques that Monet used.
The results were awesome!! Next month they will get a chance to finish them...

Finally, it was soccer time for the PE portion of the Co-op. I am always impressed how our PE Dad ensures the kids warm up and stretch! We are blessed to have him!!
What a great start to what I am sure will be a great year!
Blessings,
Natalie