Tapestry Of Grace Year 1, Unit 2 is done

Last week, we finally wrapped up our second unit of Tapestry of Grace history. We didn't do as many projects for the second unit as we did for the first unit; however, TBear enjoyed the ones we did attempt. Because we tried our hands at weaving and making cylinder seals for the first unit, we didn't repeat those projects this time. However, after looking at beautiful pictures in The Story of Painting by Sister Wendy Beckett the week we studied the early Greeks, TBear wanted to try his hand at painting a fresco. The project turned out to be harder than it looked. First TBear drew a picture, copying a pair of dolphins from a picture of one of the frescoes in the Palace of Knossos, on the island of Crete. Then we mixed up a foil pan of plaster of paris.

While the plaster was still wet, TBear laid the picture gently on top of it and traced his dolphins. That was an interesting race. The paper started to sink into the plaster faster than he could lightly trace.

After carefully trying to remove the picture without lifting up his traced lines or the plaster with it, TBear painted the wet plaster. He had to work fast so the plaster didn't dry before he finished his painting.

Here is the finished fresco. TBear gained a new appreciation for the artists who painted the beautiful frescoes in ancient Greece. And isn't that what the projects are all about sometimes? :)

Another project that interested TBear was creating a map of ancient Israel and her neighbors. Over the course of a few weeks, he continued to add to it. It was fascinating to note the route Joshua took when he went into the Promised Land, and to look at pictures of the geography of Israel and the surrounding countries. The first thing TB did was to denote and color the territories of the twelve tribes of Israel. As we continued to study her ancient neighbors - the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites, Hittites, Philistines, and Phoenicians - TBear added a picture and some pertinent information about each country to his map. I was surprised at how much he really enjoyed this project. It certainly cemented the knowledge he acquired.

Finally, as we wrapped up our second unit with a study of the Phoenicians in conjunction with our study of King Saul and King David, making models of a Phoenician warship and an amphora was too much fun to pass up. Here are the finished products.

From what TBear has indicated, I suspect we'll be doing another interesting map of trade routes and goods in the Mediterranean and mideast as we investigate King Solomon's relationship with the Phoenician traders.