I'm happy to announce that ALL of our caterpillars are still alive! (A small miracle in a class of 20 little kids!)
The little guys have been eating constantly and have grown considerably. After the weekend, my students were surprised to see that they'd nearly doubled in size, and that they had pooped all over the place. At first they thought the caterpillars were having babies, but once I educated them as to what those "babies" really were, they were super excited to write about caterpillar poop in their observation journals!
We've been noticing some some big changes in the last 24 hours. Here is what most of our little friends currently look like:
The little guys have been eating constantly and have grown considerably. After the weekend, my students were surprised to see that they'd nearly doubled in size, and that they had pooped all over the place. At first they thought the caterpillars were having babies, but once I educated them as to what those "babies" really were, they were super excited to write about caterpillar poop in their observation journals!
We've been noticing some some big changes in the last 24 hours. Here is what most of our little friends currently look like:
They've been hanging out at the top of their cups, looking for a spot to attach so they can begin to make their chrysalis.
Once they attach, they hang upside down in a "J shape." When I arrived at school this morning, my caterpillar and one of my girls' had assumed the position!
I checked on mine right before recess and it was still hanging out in that "J shape." But 25 minutes later when we came back in...
My caterpillar, Pookie, had made himself a chrysalis!
I quickly pulled all my students over to my desk and showed them. I wish I could have captured the looks on their faces! Immediately followed by, "Why did he do it when we were gone?"
Teacher confession: I told them that he chose to do it during recess because it was silent in the room. I said that the quieter they are, the quicker their caterpillars will change, because they need peace and quiet to be able to think. It's nearing the end of the year...I need all the help I can get, ok?
I'm hopeful that we'll get to catch one in action in the next couple days, because I'd love for them to be able to see it happen. In case it doesn't, I found this great video on YouTube of a young boy narrating the life cycle of his caterpillars, which happen to be from the same company. I'll link the video below. My kids LOVED it yesterday, and even asked to watch it again today. I highly suggest showing it to students. After seeing it, they know exactly what to be on the lookout for!
Stay tuned for the next update!
No comments:
Post a Comment