Spring is here and so are the insects! The students in Room 217 enjoyed learning about insects through some of the works of Eric Carle. We had fun reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar with Ms. Anita during our weekly language group. Everyone took turns feeding the model of the caterpillar using picture cards. Afterwards, we then took a small toy caterpillar and placed him in one end of the cocoon (cardboard tube). When we pushed him into the cocoon, a toy butterfly emerged from the other side! Using colored pasta, each student made a model of the butterfly life cycle after investigating the large inflatable egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. The students also observed Mrs. Engelhardt’s caterpillars and can’t wait to see them turn into butterflies!
Extending the story further, the students made Very Hungry Caterpillar smoothies during independent living using some of the same fruits the caterpillar ate. First, we identified different fruits by matching them to corresponding picture cards. Next, we placed the cut fruits into the blender and finally took turns activating the blender by using the big switch.
While reading The Very Quiet Cricket, the students noticed that the insects in the story all had three body parts and six legs. Afterwards, they explored large inflatable insects to count legs and body parts and then used a variety of textured paper to create their own tactile insect. During math, the students counted sets of plastic insects and sorted insects by color and size. The best part of the story was interacting with a recordable speech button to make the cricket finally chirp! We look forward to reading The Very Lonely Firefly and making glowing insects!
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