We started our Co-op for 2007 with a family concert and potluck.  We held this last Saturday – we went for Saturday afternoon and evening so it was easier for the Dad’s to be there.  It was such a great time we are planning to have other co-ops on Saturdays and certainly to have a potluck meal together again.

We started our Co-op with our regular Character instruction session.  We wanted first to start the year we way we wanted to continue and secondly we wanted the Dad’s to see what the Character stuff looks like in this bigger group. 

We are studying Attentiveness first up this year.  We learnt a poem with actions, and then I read a story about a White-tailed deer and how being attentive saved his life.  This lead into a mini lesson on how our ears work.  As we discussed it we “built” the parts of an ear using volunteers!

Then the concert began….

Jessica played two songs on the piano.  She fumbled a bit but it was her first time playing to so many people – all the other girls refused to play the piano so she did really well. 

Nomi recited / read a poem.  She used her hands for a bit of drama and her voice well, a bit of an accent and plenty of emphasis. 

Joshua wrote an interview between a newspaper reporter and David (who killed Goliath).  He wrote it so Daniel would have something he could say and perform.  Daniel remembered his lines and spoke them so very clearly.  Joshua was the interviewer and Daniel was David.

Josh also read a piece from one of James Harriet’s books.  He read clearly. 

So we were very proud of our lot.

All the kids did very well.  Three families acted out a book (no guessing we are all crazy about books!), one family sang a few songs and another did a play.  A few girls recited some bible verses or a poem they had memorized.  There was great variety.

The potluck afterwards was fantastic – it was a great way to have a social focus.  There were over 60 people there as some of the families had invited family and friends to join us.