Back to Co-op!

Today was the boys' first day back to co-op, and we were all ever so glad to be back!!  They were very happy to see their friends and to get to learn and play with them.  In art class they learned about pointillism and made their own pointillist butterfly pictures with tempera paint and Q-tips...
 

They actually drew and painted half of the butterflies, then folded the paper and pressed on it to make the other half.  Brilliant idea!
 
In Zoology class, the kids learned about insects.  They learned that insects have 3 main body parts, six legs, compound eyes, and an exoskeleton.  For an experiment, the kids tried to drown a cricket, but found out that crickets can close up all their air holes and survive after at least 5 minutes under water!  As a bonus, my kids got to bring home the experiment subjects as PETS!! 

The three containers above house three different crickets... Hopper, Hoppy, and Hoppy McHopperson.  The kids brought all three home in one jar, but decided they each needed to make their own habitats.  We looked up what crickets eat... which just happens to be everything (they're omnivorous)... and the kids put these together.  The only thing I did was punch the air holes and fill up little cricket-sized water bowls.  The dirt, grass, and paper clippings are providing nourishment for the little buggers.  The crickets seem to be doing well, but Caleb accidentally ripped one of the back legs off of his, so we're not sure how long it will survive.

I ended up filling in for another mom who was sick, so I stayed at co-op all day and taught two classes on conflict resolution for kids... based on The Young Peacemaker, by Corlette Sande.  I got to sit in a circle with two groups of around 12 kids and chat with them about different reasons and ways to make "a respectful appeal."  The kids are smart and funny... and silly (right up my alley)... and we had great discussions! 

Where was Sarah, you ask?  Well, little "Sarah May" spent the entire day alone with Grandma.  And there's no telling what kind of trouble those two got into!

"What happens at Grandma's STAYS at Grandma's!!"