Mrs. Hannon's First Grade Fly on the Wall 

We are still waiting for the transformation from chrysalis to adult, and here are a few items I wanted to share.

I have learned new things this year. One last week my daughter who lives in northwestern Indiana texted me that she had hundred of butterflies around her house and in the tree in her front yard. She was pretty sure they were Monarchs but asked me to check. There is a butterfly which mimics the Monarch..the Viceroy. The Viceroy has a sort of horizontal black line across the hind wings. Here is a comparison.

And here are the photos she took of the butterflies in her yard. They were clearly Monarchs.

She also sent video, but the file was too large to send in an email. She shared with me on Google, but I couldn’t make it work to show the students how they were flying all over her yard. It was amazing. This event got me to thinking more about whether this group was on their way to Mexico, etc.

What I learned was that the Monarchs do not actually travel in a flock as birds do. They travel individually. However, they will come together to roost in particular places for one or two days (which they did at my daughter’s home). I then started wondering about their life cycles…how long they were and why some make it to Mexico while others never see Mexico. The life cycle is only 6-8 weeks, and once a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, if female, she is an adult ready to lay eggs. Once she lays her eggs, she dies. There are five generations occurring before they return to Mexico. I was amazed to read that the fifth and last generation does not mate, nor do they lay eggs and die. As adults they return to Mexico for the winter and they survive all that time, to return in the Spring and begin a new cycle. God’s creation is so amazing.

Next up! Will our two be male or female, and how can we know?

My birthday always falls around the time of Country Fair. I only put my birthday in my newsletter because the kids always ask me. I promise I wasn’t looking for attention or gifts (not at my age!). I did receive a lot of sweet little treats and kindnesses, and a couple of  big ones too! Thank you! We had a casual day prior to our Friday off, and when we went out for recess, it was obvious the excitement was building. It was so fun watching them gathered in the corner of the playground watching the rides being built.

Here are just a few fun photos! Enjoy!

I just loved watching them watch!

Since we had a casual day and there happened to be some interesting socks, I took a photo this way!

Don’t ever let any of them say we never have fun!

I love being greeted this way for my home visits! I could see everyone waiting outside.

I also was surprised by this! Yum!

I had great visit with Chase, his brothers, and his mom (plus another neighbor/friend little boy). Chase showed me his backyard (a fun backyard with a great play area and a pool). My favorite thing was the huge shade tree (good for climbing). Chase talked about the time we had a lesson and both his brother’s name and his mom’s name was in the story (Tanner and Mindy). Thank you for inviting me to your home, Chase. It was fun!

I hope you are enjoying our projects so far! We began our year learning about how amazing God’s gift of creation is….and then about His greatest gift of all!

If you see my blinds pulled down, it isn’t because we want to miss seeing our beautiful campus and weather outside. It might be because if sunny, the light reflects on our Smart Board and we can’t see it well. OR……it COULD be because of things that distract us….such as…..

Growing, growing, growing! They are very hungry and Mrs. Ellis from preschool has made a couple of trips for us (and for her classroom) to replenish our supply of food.

I often interrupt my “regularly scheduled” plans when a teachable moment appears. I have been planning a unit on the life cycle of Monarch butterflies. As it turns out, a great parishioner, former parent, and advocate for our school brought some tadpoles to create a Tadpole Lab outside of the school. We were able to observe them. Pre-school has adopted some of them, so we will continue to follow their progress. We completed a page in what we call our “interactive notebook” to reinforce what we learned about their life cycle.

We did make a start on our Monarch unit as well, reading a couple of books about Monarchs and watching a couple of really cool videos.

How I Became a Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly Turns into a Chrysalis

(Don’t worry, when using YouTube videos, I always view first to make sure we aren’t interrupted by any inappropriate advertisements.)

Now, Mrs. Ellis in Pre-School brought us two itty bitty Monarch caterpillars, so we will be observing their growth in the classroom. I brought them home over the weekend, and sadly one of them (VERY tiny) appears to have died, but the other is munching away and slowly growing. I have a supply of milkweed so hopefully we will be able to observe the entire cycle, including…..tagging our butterfly once emerged and tracking him or her to Mexico! More to come!

How I love my home visits! My first was with Elin where I also met her two brothers, Otto and Nile, and her kitties Oscar and Roxie (only caught a glimpse of one who must be shy). Elin showed me her pretty bedroom and we went outside for a photo before I left. She requested a regular photo, and then one with teeth….and I GOT TO HOLD OTTO! Thank you for inviting me to your home, Elin! (I love that watermelon dress!)

P.S. I believe you can click on photos to save or make them larger/see them better. 🙂

We made All About Me posters, and have started to book shop weekly in the classroom.

We have started adding leaves to our tree for acts of kindness. We joined Ms. Nell’s students in her classroom for a guest speaker.

It’s Labor Day weekend and we have officially launched a new school year, having completed our first 18 days. It usually takes 20-30 days of repetition before something becomes a routine (longer for many first graders), and we’ll continue to practice.
It is amazing to me how much we have accomplished in such a relatively short period of time, and how well we have all become acquainted. I must say, your kids are amazing, sweet, loving, and are little sponges. They make me smile. Are they ever stinkers? Of course…I can be a stinker too!

I hope to be better at posting this year than last. Although I am an empty nester, in the past two years two of my four daughters have become wives, and the same two are mothers (a girl and a boy, and another boy to arrive in late January/early February). Being a grandparent is indescribably wonderful. In addition my husband and I and preparing to downsize to a smaller home, so we’ve been consumed with construction decisions and trying to sell our current home. I guess my point is that life never really gets simpler, but well…it keeps me young!

I am looking forward to this year and I hope you will check in regularly, feel free to share with grandparents and other family members, and become a “fly on the wall.” Off we go!