Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Life Cycle Study, Part 2: In the Chrysalis

Our caterpillars grew and grew, and then they started making their way to the top of the cup.
Then we noticed that some started to hang into a 'J' shape, which means they are getting ready to form their chrysalis.

One by one, each caterpillar changed. Look carefully to find the one in chrysalis.


Some of us were even able to observe one as it was changing. The caterpillar sheds it's skin one last time, hardens and wiggles around until it is completely sealed inside.

We counted and documented how many had changed by the end of the first day.

We also noticed how the caterpillars were hanging from a very small thread, and used tape and pipe cleaners to explore caterpillars hanging and forming their chrysalises.





When we came back to school the next class day, all of the caterpillars had changed.

We were able to observe them more closely when we moved them into the butterfly habitat.

And now we wait!

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Rainy Spring

It has been really rainy around here lately, so we brought back a favorite art process to explore dripping water and rain on paper umbrellas.



Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Book Love: Some Bugs


Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi is one of my favorite bug books. (In fact, I've written about it before, but wanted to share how we used it this time around!) It has simple text, delightful illustrations, and inspires us to get outside and find some bugs! My classes this year (especially the afternoon class) have been super interested in finding bugs outside, and it has been fun to dig a little deeper into this topic. 

Read-Aloud Tips: There are so many little details in the illustrations of this book, and it can be fun to take the time to notice things like what shapes did the illustrator use to create the bug? or how many of this type of bug can you find on the page? There are also fun movement words throughout the book that you can act out, like rolling up like a pill bug or crawling like a caterpillar. 

Connecting Activity: Bug Art 
We used bright colored paint and various materials to stamp and paint different shapes onto the paper. 

This was a fun process, and it didn't matter if your shapes looked like bugs or not because then we pulled out the googly eyes and those brought the process to like. They also remind me of the big bug eyes in the illustrations of the book. 








Exploring Insects

As part of our butterfly life cycle study, we've been learning a little bit more about the difference between insects and other creeping-crawling things.

Insects + Playdough 
I set out a variety of loose parts with our playdough, and many children discovered making prints. 
I love how this is a visual for the parts of an insect: 6 legs, 3 body parts, 2 antannae.
 
It was fun to see what kinds of bugs and insects they created as well.
 




Insect Habitats Sensory Bin
Here they explored making different homes for the insects. 



Insect Number Hunt + Clip Counting
 Exploring insects just seems to lend itself to counting since their characteristics are based on numbers, so I like to expand on that concept with other counting activities as well.





Friday, April 14, 2017

Life Cycle Study, Part 1: Caterpillars

Every year I like to do a live life cycle study.
 Last year we did ladybugs, and this year we are doing butterflies again.
I always look forward to this magical project.

It's amazing how fast they grow in just a few days!



One student asked me to take a picture with the magnifying glass in front, so the caterpillars looked bigger. I thought it turned out to be a cool picture. :) 

The Hungry Caterpillar
Caterpillars are HUNGRY, and I love using this classic book by Eric Carle to inspire some activities. Here is a counting/threading invitation that can also be used for story retelling. 

Caterpillar Craft
In addition to some caterpillar inspired art, we created these simple and fun caterpillars climbing on sticks.








It's been so fun to watch our caterpillars grow and grow!






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