Monday, August 16, 2010

When does school start?

That question is difficult to answer when you don't ever really stop.

We have less structure and fewer scheduled outside activities in the summer. Today most of the public schools in our area started. The one that affects us the most starts on Friday. So when do we start our new "school year"?  Today? Friday? Next Tuesday when PE starts? The Monday after Labor Day when Scouts starts? Or when I get our supplies, plan, and schedule at home set up?

In the past our marker has been HANCK's Not-Back-To-School party. There isn't one scheduled yet. That is partially due to so many different schedules in the area, partially due to the weather being so hot last week, and partially because no one has said, "It is at (this) park on (this) date."

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Caterpillars

We have some swallowtail caterpillars! I got several a few days ago and thought I starved them, but 2 started moving when I put dill in their container. Add today's 2 or 3 and we might end up with quite a flock of butterflies in 3-4 weeks.

The boys seem quite interested. We have talked about their food, the life cycle stages, and different types of butterflies already. We googled to find some pictures and information about how to keep them. (Plastic baggies won't be sufficient for very long.)