Our Chrysalises and a State Trooper Visit

Monday was very exciting! All 6 of our caterpillars had shed their skin and formed chrysalises - we were able to move them into a larger butterfly cage so that they would have room to fly when they emerge from the chrysalis stage. Some of the chrysalises were on the lid, and some were on the ground, but we are hoping to have 6 butterflies! We could see that they had eaten a lot of food, and had shed their skins many times. 

On Monday we also had a visit from a Michigan State Trooper, Sgt. Gill. He told us all about the police academy, what police officers do to help people, and how we need to work and learn at school. He brought us some treats, and took us out to sit in his police vehicle! 

We worked all week on our insect life cycle unit and created bees, dragonflies and giant Painted Lady butterflies for our bulletin board. We also wrote about our chrysalises and insects in our journals - we are building our stamina for writing and adding details and labels to our drawings! 

We demonstrated our understanding of the insect life cycle by making these necklaces... EGG, CATERPILLAR (or larva), CHRYSALIS (or pupa), BUTTERFLY (or adult insect). 

Our Caterpillars and Michigan

We continued to watch our caterpillars eat and grow this week. We measure them every day and notice that they have been molting, or shedding their skins. On Friday, we noticed that the first caterpillar was hanging from the top of the jar, in the shape of a letter J. We predicted that he was getting ready to molt once more and become a chrysalis. 
We have also been learning about our state - we know we are nicknamed "The Mitten State" and "The Great Lake State". Have your child tell you why! We read about robins, our state bird. 

 

We also learned that our state fish is the Brook Trout and our state flower is the Apple Blossom. 

In our social skills lessons this week, we have continued to explore small, medium and large sized problems. We also talked about "expected" and "unexpected" behaviors and "the group plan". In our classroom, we review what the "group plan" is when we come up for instruction, when we begin Center Time or when we go to recess. The "group plan" helps us know what everyone is expected to do. A big reaction or tantrum would be an example of an "unexpected behavior". Unexpected behaviors make others feel uncomfortable and do not solve the problem. 

I hope all of the mothers and grandmothers in our families have a wonderful Mother's Day! You are all very special ladies to your children/grandchildren! 

Insects

We continued with some insect themed Eric Carle books, including "The Very Lonely Firefly", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "The Grouchy Ladybug" to begin our insect life cycle science unit. We made some fireflies for our hallway board and wrote about some of our firefly learning.

We used balloons to paint these big caterpillars. We learned that the job of a caterpillar is to eat. 

In "The Grouchy Ladybug", we saw that using mean words did not work for the grouchy ladybug...it did not get her what she wanted. We also learned that ladybugs eat aphids - aphids eat plants, so ladybugs are helpful insects. 

We were pretty excited when this box arrived for us!

We will be observing our 6 caterpillars as they eat and grow next week and writing about them in our journals. We will also do some Michigan Week themed activities to help us learn about our state. 

Our Fantastic Field Trip!!!

We had a wonderful field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center today. We learned about spiders and insects, helped plant some new trees and enjoyed eating lunch together! We appreciate the support of the WL Foundation for Excellence who helped fund part of our trip through their mini-grant program. 

We learned about how spiders make webs and catch insects by playing some fun spider games. 

We learned that insects have 3 body parts - we put insect puzzles together to help us see the 3 parts. 

There were many things for us to look at and investigate in the insect room. 

We tried out some special glasses to experience the compound eyes that insects have. 

 We went outside to look for spider webs and egg sacks, and then we helped plant some new trees!

The Outdoor Education Center was really cool - we loved exploring inside and outside today!

Earth Day, Journals and more Eric Carle books...

On Monday we talked about our planet, the Earth, and how we need to take care of it. We read books about how litter and trash can cause problems for our planet and the animals who live on it. We created these beautiful Earth pictures for our hallway board. 

"The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle was a perfect book to read - it tells the story of a seed and how it grew. We created beautiful art using a potato for a stamp, and we planted tiny seeds of our own. We can't wait until they begin to sprout! 

"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth" gave us a great opportunity to talk about sloths and their rainforest environment. We learned that sloths are not lazy, but they do move slowly. They have green fungus in their fur - this helps them hide from predators. 

We also enjoyed painting chameleons after reading "The Mixed Up Chameleon". We painted colorful chameleons and wrote about how they change color to blend in to their environment. 

We have been hard at work on our journal writing - this is a new challenge for us, and the boys are doing a fantastic job. I am so pleased at the progress these boys have made in both their handwriting and their art work! We'll bring these journals home at the end of the month. 

Just a reminder that our Field Trip to the WL Outdoor Center is next Tuesday, April 30. Children need to bring a lunch and drink in a bag - we'll eat at the Center before returning to school that day. 

We are also collecting items for our Breakfast Themed Gift Basket - this will be raffled off during the Spring Fair on June 1. We are collecting items (pancake mix, syrup, jam, muffin mix, mixing spoons, mixing bowl, pot holder and towel etc.) until May 10. Much thanks to those who have already sent in items for our basket! 

Eric Carle Author Study

This week we began our Eric Carle author study. We really love his books! We learned about the ocean when we read "A House for Hermit Crab" and "Mister Seahorse". 

We talked about cooking and food when we read "Today is Monday" and "Pancakes, Pancakes". 

On Thursday we made bird's nests to eat - we used sticks (chow mein noodles), mud (chocolate and butterscotch chips), grass (coconut), eggs (jelly beans) and birds (peeps) to make our creations...YUMMMMM! 

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend! We will continue with our Eric Carle author study next week. 

Ducks, Rabbits, Chickens...

We painted big ducks on Monday and created bunnies on Tuesday. We read several stories about ducks and rabbits.

On Wednesday we tried a directed drawing challenge to create some bunny faces of our own...the class did a fantastic job of watching, listening and then following the steps. 

All week long we worked on some specific coping skills, including size of the problem and taking a quiet break when we feel upset. We always praise students when they try to get calm, stay safe and get back in the green zone. Our work is a little more challenging this time of the year, so we also need to use coping skills when we feel frustrated. Asking for help, taking a break, and self talk are all good coping skills for work time frustration. 

We continue to work on our whiteboards - look at this great sentence!

Mrs. Nickel, our principal, joined us for Center Time on Thursday...she enjoyed interacting with us at our different centers! 

****Your child has brought home a field trip permission slip for our field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center on April 30. They will need to bring a lunch/drink in a bag that day because we will eat our lunch at the Outdoor Center before returning to school. We are asking for $5.00 to offset the cost of the bus and trip - our Foundation for Excellence mini grant will cover the rest of the cost.

****We are joining with Miss Fifer's class to create a Breakfast themed basket for the Spring Fair on June 1. We would love any breakfast themed donations - due to us by May 10. Ideas include breakfast bars, pancake mix, jam, syrup, potholder, spatula, canned fruit, mixing bowl etc. Much thanks!