The next day we began our observational journals, drawing and writing, about the caterpillars' growth. Over the weekend Susan and Kathy brought in milkweed plants, the only food the caterpillars will eat and transferred the caterpillars onto leaves and into wooden observation boxes.
It has been fascinating to witness the changes that are taking place. Here are some of the students' journal observations over this past week:
They are really little and cute.
They are growing bigger. They are as big as my fingernail.
They have horns (antennae) on both ends. I think to make other animals think that they have two heads.
They are symmetrical because they have horns on both ends.
They are hungry because there are holes in the leaves and frass (caterpillar poop) in the box.
This one has 14 legs.
This one is really the king of the caterpillars. He's humongous!
We watched a video that helped us learn about the importance of the many varieties of milkweed and have been reading nonfiction books to deepen our understanding of the changes taking place before our eyes and what to expect might happen over time. One of our favorites was Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons. We also enjoyed putting together a large monarch life cycle puzzle.
Soon we will learn about the magical, miraculous migration that takes place. We'll keep you posted.
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