Transportation Co-Op - Trains!

 

 At our Co-Op the little ones in our group had two stories read to them and they did a craft where we cut out the train cars, glued them to a large piece of paper and labeled them. Then they got to go into the foyer of the Church and play with the train sets that we brought. We had a plastic one, a wooden set and a bunch of good sets. They had so  much fun with them! I also brought wooden blocks and mega blocks to build houses and tunnels.

 

 

Some other moms baked cookies with the older kids and they left some for our group to come in and decorate them. I think Zoe ate way too many candies, but it was so much fun!

 

I'm not sure what game this was, but the kids seemed to have a great time.

 

 

I think this is a version of musical chairs?

 

 

Some of the older kids went down to play with the trains when they had a chance to. In the above images the girls were making tunnels with their bodies. Talk about creative! Here the train is going under her back.

Above the kids are playing a game where they had to remember where in the room they had to go and what they had to do by what type of train was called out. Or at least I think that is what they were doing.

 

After cleaning up some of the kids went out to the park to play.

 “The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”~ Plato

Trains, Trains, and more Trains!

 

 

 

We are members of some homeschool groups in our area. One of those groups arranges a Mini CoOp. I help out with organizing it. The one we are working on now is on Transportation. The first day is dedicated to Trains. We pulled out all of our old trains, cleaned them up, and of course, had to play with them. We had so much fun. I hope that the kids love them as much as we do.

 "A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine." ~ unknown

Zoe's Photography!

Zoe decided that she wanted to use my camera. It's kind of an expensive toy for her to use but I bent and let her use it after giving her brief instructions how to use it. These are some of the pictures that turned out. I think it is so cool to see through the eyes of a child. Either through watching them, looking at their art, or photography. These are wonderful!

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”~ Walt Streightiff 

A Roly Poly as a Pet!

This is our third year having potato, sow, pill bugs as pets over the winter. We keep them inside the house in a jar and feed them plant material and water drops. Both winters they had babies. It's so interesting because the mother carries the babies under her belly in a pouch for a while. I suggest that if yours have babies split them up into other jars. I've noticed that if you have too many in a jar they can somehow disappear. I think from what I learned is that if there are too many some of them get eaten when they molt. So to prevent this keep them in other jars when they get over crowded.

Here are the instructions: 

1. Get a clean jar and punch holes in the lid.

2. Put a bunch of clean, chemical free soil on the bottom of the jar. No need to pat it down. The bugs will like to burrow into it and like it soft and moist.

3. Find potato bugs under a pot, rock or other objects on the ground. Or if your house has as many as ours you might just be able to open the door at night and see them scurry across the step. We also have a ton of them in our composters.

4. Place leaves (this could be leaves from veggies too (carrot tops, lettuce), or small pieces of veggies. Keep in mind that you don't want something that is smelly. So small pieces of potato peelings or carrot peelings are fine. See what they like best. The leaves are very fun to feed them because they'll eat all of the leaf and leave the veins.

5. Keep the leaves and the soil moist.

They are nocturnal animals and will be more active at night. You might also notice that when you shine a bright light on them they scurry under the leaves or down a burrow hole they made.

Have fun with your new pet!

I couldn't find a poem for this subject, but here is a link. If I were crafty with the sewing machine I'd make this. One thing to keep in mind is that this bug isn't an insect. It has 14 legs (7 on each side). 

http://www.youcanmakethis.com/info/whats-new/Charles-Chuggypeg-Felt-Roly-Poly-Bug.htm

Chi Chi Chi Chia Earth!

So here is our earth growing fast. Now I'm not sure what to do with it. I lost the instructions. LOL! But some areas are growing much better than other areas. As you can see the plants are getting long.

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”
~ Rachel Carson

Book Sharing Monday

 

This time of year we collect a Sow Bug or two to keep for the winter. While browsing our local library shelves, I came across this book. What a good find! Did you ever wonder how to keep an insect you found in your house as a pet? Well if you are like us, this book will come in handy. We LOVE insects!

My Hubby Shrunk!

 

Oh my Goodness!!! Some days my kids crack me up so hard! LOL!!! I really need to get this kid into drama lessons!

“If you tell a joke in the forest, but nobody laughs, was it a joke?”~Stephen Wright