Butterfly House

We were hoping to release some more of the butterflies outside with the JK's.  The rainy and windy weather made that impossible.  Instead we decided to add some more butterflies to the house so we could observe them in comfort for everyone.

We had 13 butterflies in the house and the students were crowded around it throughout most of the day.  They got to see them fly around the house, climb up the walls with their fragile looking legs and drink the sugar water with their long curly tongues.  Some of the students have been taking pictures of them with their iPads and even recording videos of their movements to show their classmates.

Recording and documenting extended to the art easel where some of the students decided to draw out the life cycle.  It was awesome to hear them talk about metamorphosis while explaining their drawings.

Week 3 with our Painted Lady Butterflies

When we returned to school on Monday, none of our butterflies had emerged from the chrysalises.  As the day progressed, we kept a close eye on what was happening and sure enough near the end of the day our first butterfly came out of the chrysalis.

Day 17

We dipped cotton balls in sugar water for the butterflies to eat and watched with fascination as they used their long tongue or proboscis to get their food.

The rest of the chrysalises were wiggling like crazy as the butterflies inside them worked hard to be released from the covering.  It sounded like wings flapping already as they vibrated inside the container.

Mrs. Boucha and the JK's put 2 of the butterflies into the butterfly house so we could observe them for a bit.

Day 18

Today we released most of the butterflies with the help of the SK's.  We were very careful and sat very still so the butterflies could land on us.  Some of them landed on our hats, clothes and even on our fingers.  We also got some of them to climb onto a stick so we could release them in safety.  It was a pretty exciting day all around.

Day 19

It has been quite the adventure for us.  Stay tuned---next week we are going to observe tadpoles.

Week 2 Butterflies - The Chrysalis Stage

We have entered the third stage of the life cycle of our Painted Lady Butterflies.  According to the timeline, the caterpillars should form into their chrysalis stage between 7 - 10 days.  The timing wasn't great because day 7 coincided with the beginning of a three day long weekend and I thought they might change while we were away from school.  Mrs. Hensrud suggested that I bring the caterpillars home with me so I could keep an eye on them without having to run back and forth to the school each day.  With the cold and rainy weather I just wanted to stay at home and cocoon under some blankets :)

Right on schedule on Day 10, the first caterpillars formed into their chrysalises.  As the day progressed, more and more of the caterpillars changed.

Day 10

We checked out a chrysalis under our new magnifiers.  You can look from the top down or if you look through the bottom viewer you can see whatever is on display from underneath.  Very cool.

Thanks to Mrs. Hensrud for this link for a time lapse video of Painted Lady Butterflies.  Check it out. Butterfly Time Lapse video








Week 2 Observations:

• they changed into chrysalises
• they are brown-green
• they are hanging like monkeys do from trees
• the chrysalises have yellow-gold spikes on the outside
• looks like a zipper
• they are attached to webs
• they are sleeping
• we saw caterpillar skins
• one chrysalis was split open

So now we just wait---this stage takes 7 - 10 days too.   Sometime next week we should have butterflies.  I just hope that it happens on a school day and not the weekend.  We'll have to keep our fingers crossed :)

The Little Red Hen

We have been reading different versions of The Little Red Hen this month.  In JK, we created the Little Red Hen using our handprints and then we coloured in a background to go with the story.

In drama activities, the students have enjoyed re-enacting the story using both puppets and the contents of our story basket.

We also made pretend bread using bread dough clay. The JK's spent a long time just seeing all the different ways of creating something out of bread - rolls, doughnuts, biscuits, muffins, pizza.

We baked it in the oven for 1 hour until the creations were done.  Now we can open our own Little Red Hen Bakery.

Week One with our Painted Lady Butterflies

Day 4

The students have been very excited to witness the daily growth and changes in our butterflies.  They have been getting up close and personal using the magnifying glasses to see what is happening to the caterpillars in their tiny and temporary habitat.

When asked what they saw, this is what the JK's observed:

• the two of them together are becoming friends
• they are moving and eating and becoming butterflies
• they are black and chubby
• they are eating food because they are hungry just like in the story

When asked what they were eating for food they said, "caterpillar grow up food."  The JK's also explored the app we have on the iPad called 'Butterfly HD' to learn more about the lifecycle.

The SK observations:

• we saw the caterpillars stretched out (measured about 35 mm)
• they have little yellow stripes
• they are mostly black
• they are eating lots
• we can see lots of legs
• we looked for the eyes and mouth with the magnifying glass
• we think we saw their skin that they shed because they are getting bigger
• we can see webs and it looks wet inside the container
• we think that they are using suction cups to attach to the side and top of the container

The caterpillars are getting bigger and bigger each day and we should see them form a chrysalis in the next couple days as the larvae stage is 7-10 days.

Day 7