Hello, Mariposa families!

As we’ve settled into the first month of school, a shared interest in bugs and insects has emerged within the group. Children began noting ladybugs and spiders on the schoolyard, and there was great excitement among some of the children when they discovered and identified a ladybug larva. 

In response, Christin and I initiated an investigation of bugs. Mariposa children have been studying bugs in our Bug Lab, where they are examining various bugs preserved in acrylic, looking at a real butterfly carcass and wasp nest under a magnifying glass, and taking “notes” and making observational drawings in our Entomologist’s Notebook. Children are also pretending to record data using a computer keyboard and a calculator. Some friends have been playing “Bug Doctor” and have created a hospital to rehabilitate sick or injured insect figurines.

During circle time, we’ve been reading excerpts from our book Insect World, which answers questions that children may have about bug biology and behavior in accessible language. We’ve put out a basket of insect “research books,” and children are perusing them in small groups and sharing their knowledge with each other. The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection, a story about a child who creates a magnificent house for backyard bugs, has been a favorite read-aloud fiction book. 

We’ve woven bugs and insects into other parts of our literacy curriculum, too. At circle time, Mariposa children are learning a butterfly song and a ladybug song with hand gestures. Your child may have brought home a “Parts of a Bee Book,” where they have practiced writing the bee’s body parts. Many children have taken on the challenge of mastering a complex 4-layer puzzle depicting the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. 

It is a Mariposa tradition to raise monarch butterflies from chrysalises that form on our campus’ milkweed plants, and our students have started to notice tiny monarch caterpillars and eggs on the foliage. We’re looking forward to extending our bug and insect project into a monarch butterfly observation!