If there's one thing I've learned in the last year or so in my school, it's that if you want something, you have to make it known. The worst your principal can say is "no." In my case, the answer is normally yes.
I've learned that if you want something, you have to do these three things:
1. Do your research beforehand. Know what you want and have a plan for how you will use it.
2. If you're given what you asked for, USE it! My school has a very limited budget. If I were to get what I asked for and then not use it, I'd never get anything again. When administrators come into your room, they should be able to see the what you received in action. No one will want to purchase you something that you aren't actually going to utilize. That money would be better used toward something else.
3. Write thank you letters. Thank your principal for allowing the purchase of your materials. Include pictures of your kiddos using them and a snippet about what you and your kids learned.
Because I've followed those 3 steps in the past, my principal gladly said yes when I approached her about getting caterpillars for our classroom. We're getting ready to start a butterfly unit, and while reading books and watching videos are great, I really wanted to give my students a more authentic approach. The population that I teach don't typically get authentic experiences, so I really want to lean more in that direction from now on. I was able to persuade my school to purchase butterfly kits for all the K-1 classes, so we can all do this project together.
Today I introduced the caterpillars to my students. Each kid has their own caterpillar.
The little guys are living on our tables. My students can get some better observations throughout the day and take a little more ownership of the project if the caterpillars become part of our classroom, rather than just sitting on a shelf and me pulling them out once a day.
The stuff on the bottom of the cup is food. They'll eat the food and get bigger. Then they'll climb up to the lid, attach to the tissue paper, and spin their cocoon. Once they've been in the cocoons for a couple days, I'll transfer them into a netted pavilion, where they'll stay until they hatch. The butterflies can fly around in the pavilion for a couple days, and then we'll release them outside.
My students were so excited while we were getting the caterpillars into the cups this morning. We haven't officially started our unit yet, so the only thing they know about caterpillars is that they make cocoons and turn into butterflies. There was all kinds of great inquiry this morning, and the kids were asking some really great questions that we'll research next week.
The timeline for this project is about 3 or 4 weeks. It will overlap with some of our other units, but that's totally okay with me. I'm so thankful that we've been given this opportunity, and I'd love to get the chance to do this again in the future.
I'll keep you updated as the buggies grow and change!
I've learned that if you want something, you have to do these three things:
1. Do your research beforehand. Know what you want and have a plan for how you will use it.
2. If you're given what you asked for, USE it! My school has a very limited budget. If I were to get what I asked for and then not use it, I'd never get anything again. When administrators come into your room, they should be able to see the what you received in action. No one will want to purchase you something that you aren't actually going to utilize. That money would be better used toward something else.
3. Write thank you letters. Thank your principal for allowing the purchase of your materials. Include pictures of your kiddos using them and a snippet about what you and your kids learned.
Because I've followed those 3 steps in the past, my principal gladly said yes when I approached her about getting caterpillars for our classroom. We're getting ready to start a butterfly unit, and while reading books and watching videos are great, I really wanted to give my students a more authentic approach. The population that I teach don't typically get authentic experiences, so I really want to lean more in that direction from now on. I was able to persuade my school to purchase butterfly kits for all the K-1 classes, so we can all do this project together.
Today I introduced the caterpillars to my students. Each kid has their own caterpillar.
The little guys are living on our tables. My students can get some better observations throughout the day and take a little more ownership of the project if the caterpillars become part of our classroom, rather than just sitting on a shelf and me pulling them out once a day.
The stuff on the bottom of the cup is food. They'll eat the food and get bigger. Then they'll climb up to the lid, attach to the tissue paper, and spin their cocoon. Once they've been in the cocoons for a couple days, I'll transfer them into a netted pavilion, where they'll stay until they hatch. The butterflies can fly around in the pavilion for a couple days, and then we'll release them outside.
My students were so excited while we were getting the caterpillars into the cups this morning. We haven't officially started our unit yet, so the only thing they know about caterpillars is that they make cocoons and turn into butterflies. There was all kinds of great inquiry this morning, and the kids were asking some really great questions that we'll research next week.
The timeline for this project is about 3 or 4 weeks. It will overlap with some of our other units, but that's totally okay with me. I'm so thankful that we've been given this opportunity, and I'd love to get the chance to do this again in the future.
I'll keep you updated as the buggies grow and change!
Why do I feel some of these caterpillars wont make it?! I don't see them getting much peace as little hands will be moving them around all the time!! Can't wait to see pic's of the ones that do!!!
ReplyDelete