Our Friendship Celebration

On Wednesday we held our special Friendship Celebration Program - we were so glad that so many of you were able to come! Here are some pictures of our special day. It was a lot of work and practice, but we felt very proud of our efforts! Thank you for coming to share it with us!

Such an exciting week!

Four butterflies were out on Monday. We watched them land on flowers and an orange slice for several days. We had learned that butterflies are only able to move their wing muscles in warmer weather, so Wednesday was a perfect day to release them on the playground. One butterfly created a little excitement when it escaped in the classroom - luckily we caught it with a net and took it outside too!

Our field trip to the outdoor center was really exciting, and we had a perfect day for it! We played some games that helped us learn about insects and spiders and we learned about bats and owls and other nighttime creatures. The children loved the long nature walk we took -we walked through the woods, across a bridge and near the river. Many children said that their favorite part was seeing a water snake swimming near us! We ate our lunches at tables near the water and then hiked back through the woods. Mrs. Lacey was our instructor, and told us all about the animals and plants we saw. We were tired by the end of the field trip, but everyone loved it! I think these photos show how many things we did and how much fun we all had!

Butterflies and gifts!

We arrived at school today to see that one of our butterflies had emerged from a chrysalis! We watched for a long time, very quietly, and saw this butterfly pump up her wings. Soon, she began to fly around the cage. We added an orange slice and some lilacs for our butterflies. They will sip the nectar and juice with their proboscis (the curled up, straw like tongue that butterflies have). Maybe our other butterflies will be out by Monday.

We had a great time mixing up our special Mother's Day gift for all of you! We hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy this special gift and card!



We began reading "Charlotte's Web" this week. This is a wonderful read aloud chapter book - my favorite! We are learning to stretch our attention span as well as our imaginations by listening to this story. Today we read the chapter where Wilber meets his new friend, Charlotte.
Next Thursday is our Field Trip to the Outdoor Center. May 29 at 2:00 is our Friendship Celebration - you are all invited to join us!

Chrysalids!

On Friday all of our caterpillars became Chrysalids! One caterpillar crawled and changed into a chrysalid during our morning group time! We know that another word for caterpillar is larva, and the chrysalid stage is also called the pupa stage. We very carefully moved the five Chrysalids into a large net home. They will hang there from the top until they emerge as butterflies. We were able to see the skins our caterpillars shed while they were growing. One of our Chrysalids was not well attached to the lid, so after some discussion, we decided to help attach it with a little tape. While we wait for our butterflies, we will be reading, writing and learning about other insects.

Next Thursday, May 16, we will go on a school bus to the Walled Lake Outdoor Center for our field trip. Students need to bring a sack lunch and drink and wear long pants and closed toed shoes. We will be outside most of the time, and will be learning about spiders, insects and nocturnal animals. We will talking lot about field trip behavior this week in preparation for our trip. I would also ask that each family have a discussion about field trip behavior as well - the children will need to listen to staff at the Outdoor Center, follow directions and be respectful of the environment and each other.
On Friday we will be finishing up a Mother's Day gift and your child will bring it home to you. I would like to wish a "Happy Mother's Day" to all of you who care for children in a mother's  role. I hope you have a beautiful day and enjoy the gift your child has made!