Boys really do grow up

We had our homeschool co-op today, and it was rough. We take turns teaching, and the mom that had today was very uptight with her son. She had wonderful activities but wanted everyone to be perfectly orderly--at least indoors. I was so glad her last activity was outside because she was able to relax.

I felt so bad for her. I know what it is like to feel like my children are the only ones who can't keep their seat, talk without raising their hands, etc., but on the other hand, I'm thrilled when my kids actually volunteer the answer. They usually stay quiet, at least as regards answering questions, etc. Her son is very quick and doesn't want to wait for the whole thing to be presented for everyone. He's ready to move on. It's hard, and I so wish I could help her be okay with him. Boys change; that is a constant. Next year, he'll be older and more able to be quiet but maybe not so eager to learn and participate.

If I could have heard myself from now a year or so ago when I couldn't contain my own boys, I wouldn't have believed me! Or was that last week?

Here are some pictures. We learned about photosynthesis today.


All the kids had a cut-out of various elements a plant needs. For example, rain soaks through the stomata and the oxygen is released through the stomata, but the glucose is sent down to the roots. J-Dawg was Phyll in the Chloroplast that did all the work converting CO2, rain, and sunshine into glucose and oxygen.

Afterward, they dissected flowers and identified the parts of the blossom. Last, some of the kids pretended to be bees (outside) while others were parts of flowers with bowls holding the pollen or receiving the pollen (oatmeal). That was fun. The busy-boy ate about as much uncooked oatmeal as he could get away with. Maybe hunger was his challenge with keeping still?