This fall, the first grade at WMAES is growing BUTTERFLIES! Each class is caring for about 30 caterpillars by picking milkweed leaves from our prairie and ensuring that they are all well fed. Just like the story, these guys really are “very hungry”! The students were very excited last week to enter their classroom and see that a few of them had already formed a chrysalis! The caterpillars will stay inside a chrysalis for 14 days and then emerge as monarch butterflies. Our classes will then release them so they can begin their journey to Mexico for the winter. It has been amazing watching this natural wonder take place right inside our classrooms.
The students will also be taking part in the symbolic migration project sponsored by Journey North. The classes will be creating and decorating their own butterflies, writing notes in Spanish, and mailing their creations to students in Mexico. We will then be able to track their “migration” by going online and seeing pictures of our butterflies with our new Mexican friends. The students are learning a lot about life cycles, seasonal changes, migration, and the importance of joining with students in other regions to ensure the livelihood of this beautiful species!