Caterpillars, Seedlings, and Chicks, Oh My!

Our three- day class has had some ongoing conversations about the desire for a class pet, and we think we picked the perfect temporary class pet to close out our school year with: ten little painted lady caterpillars to care for and observe! This week, our class loved watching the caterpillars, asking questions, and reading many new library books about caterpillars and butterflies. Before departing on Wednesday, we made predictions about how our caterpillars would look when we returned to school. Would they be the same? A little bigger? Will any of them have made their chrysalis already or already turned to butterflies? We will find out tomorrow!

Another lesson of this week was: "If at first you don't suc- SEED, try try again" ;)

After two failed attempts to start seeds in our windowsill, we finally succeeded to start them in a mini- greenhouse, which helped to regulate the moisture and sunlight that these delicate little seeds needed in perfect balance. The class was so excited to transfer their little zinnia seedlings to their beautifully painted pots to adorn our windowsill once again.

A major highlight of this week was our library story time, in which we read some lovely stories about chicks before getting the opportunity to meet, pet, and cuddle some baby chicks from Ms. Amy's farm! We paid attention to what the chicks were doing and observed them doing some of the same things as the chicks in the stories, and practiced being so gentle as we learned to hold the chicks in a way that felt comfortable to them. They did such a wonderful job!

Other highlights of this week included:

* Celebrating our last birthday of the year: Noah's 5th birthday!! The class decorated a spectacular banner for him, and we loved adding pictures of Noah through the years and hearing stories from Noah's mom who joined us for our end of the day celebration. Happy birthday, Noah!! <3

* Practicing making various types of patterns with beads

* Observing pictures of insects and creating observational drawings of them with black marker before adding watercolors. These turned out beautiful!

* Reading various books that feature collage art (e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert) and trying some collage art of our own.

This week was full to the brim with so many joyful learning experiences! We hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend. We look forward to seeing you all again tomorrow!