These two 1996 issues of the journal "Offspring," a publication of the Michigan Council of Cooperative Nursery Schools, cover a variety of topics familiar to nursery school and day care providers and pertinent to the mission of the publication. Articles are short pieces useful to parents, teachers, and others and aim to provide a forum for views on dealing with young children, express a variety of ideas, promote the co-op philosophy, and to enhance relationships with children and each other. The articles are frequently accompanied by classroom activities and activity pages. Articles in these two issues include: (1) "Lighten Up; Love Yourself; Laugh A Lot" (interview with John Bernardo); (2) "Does the Test Pass the Test" (Marianne Russel Kugler); (3) "Learning to Read with Style" (Mary V. Renner); (4) "Artfully Yours" (Jessie Halladay); (5) "Talking about Sex, Babies, and AIDS with Preschoolers" (Mary W. Paonessa); (6) "Sense and Nonsense about Preschool" (David Elkind); (7) "Mental, Emotional, and Physical Effects of Laughter" (Kaye Olson); (8) "Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!" (Lynn Simons); (9) "Saying 'I Love You'" (Jane Bluestein); and (10) "Surviving the Cold Season" (Susan F. Engert). (SD)