Today we released our butterflies into our butterfly garden. It was so exciting to see the butterflies fly out of their netting habitat and into the world! We never knew which way they would fly once free. We hope they all feel at home in our garden.
This morning I arrived at school just in time to see our first butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. I took a video to show the class when they arrived. During the day 3 more butterflies emerged. We now have 4 butterflies and 5 chrysalides. Maybe some more will emerge tonight! We put sugar water and a slice of orange in their enclosure for them to drink. We will release our butterflies on Wednesday.
Today we wrapped up our study of rocks and minerals by exploring some rocks up close. Each learner brought rocks from home or found some on the playground. We also had some rock and mineral collections to look at from the Brecknock Science Closet. Learners sketched their rocks, described the color, evaluated the luster and texture, and tested the hardness by scraping them with a nail. We then took a “Rock Walk” around the room to check out everyone’s rocks.
On Thursday and Friday our caterpillars started their transformation to the next stage of their life cycle. Each caterpillar attached itself with a sticky substance to the lid of the jar. They then hung in a “j” position and shed their exoskeleton. This revealed the chrysalis that is underneath. Now the caterpillars are pupas. Their bodies changes to liquid inside the chrysalis and then reforms as a butterfly. Most attached themselves to the top of the jar lids, but some weren’t sticky enough. We propped the lids up on little stands to place inside the butterfly netting habitat and put the others on paper towels in hopes they can still metamorphosize and emerge.
Today we planted the Third Grade Butterfly Garden at Brecknock. This project aligned with our Performance Task for Module 6 where students are asked to educate the community on what we can do to help Monarch butterflies. Monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on milkweed which is the sole source of food for their caterpillars. Milkweed is harder and harder to find in nature since humans are building and expanding. Monarchs also migrate all the way to Mexico each year for the winter and need to drink nectar from flowers to give them the energy they need for this long trip. The Brecknock Butterfly Garden has both milkweed and high-nectar producing annuals to help Monarch butterflies. We got donations of zinnias, angelonia, marigolds and lantana from the Garden Spot High School Plant Science Class. Mulch was donated by Durrell’s Estate Management. All third graders helped to plant the flowers. We hope this garden will be home to the butterflies we are releasing as well as many other wild butterflies!
We are learning about butterflies this spring. This year we are raising butterflies so students can witness their miraculous life cycle change up close. A special thanks to the PTO for the funds to purchase our butterfly kits! We are raising Painted Lady butterflies. They arrived as caterpillars in little jars on May 3rd. The jar contains the food the caterpillars eat. For the first 48 hours the caterpillars might be quite still while they adjust and acclimate to their new surroundings. Then they will be busy eating and growing! They will shed their exoskeletons several times while growing. Stay tuned to see what happens next!
