Hello, Mariposa families!

Bugs have continued to fascinate the Mariposa children. In the Bug Lab, we watched our monarch caterpillars nearly double in size each day, until finally one courageous caterpillar crawled up the side of the enclosure, formed a “J” shape, and built a chrysalis overnight! We marveled at how brave a caterpillar must be to go into a dark place and experience transformation. We created a “chrysalis countdown” and are predicting when the monarch will emerge. Another monarch caterpillar is close to chrysalis formation, and the swallowtail caterpillars are on their way as well. We’re excited to have the opportunity to compare and contrast the stages of the lifecycle of two different species of butterflies.

Mariposa children were curious to observe more live bugs, so they turned our sensory bin into what they called a “Bug Aquarium.” They created a habitat for pill bugs and slugs using dirt, rocks, compost, water, and leaves. A newt that they underneath a stump in our garden also joined the “Aquarium.” Our garden has been a great venue for child-led investigations like the “Bug Aquarium” or the “Worm House” to emerge and play out over a span of days or weeks. They feel a real sense of ownership over that space, and it has been a site of organic collaboration as they negotiate these projects together.

We also experimented with fostering an Ant Farm. There was much excitement when the mail-order ants arrived; that day children spent much of the morning observing as the sluggish ants awoke in their enclosure and began to eat and tunnel. Unfortunately we also learned that worker ants are disoriented and aimless without a queen, leading to colony collapse. The Ant Farm was short-lived.

We spent a few days focusing on ladybugs, which we’ve continued to find around campus. We put some live ladybugs in our bug lab and confirmed through first-hand observation that they can eat over 50 aphids a day! We traced detailed photographs of ladybugs’ undersides, wings, and bodies to learn about their body parts. Then we learned the names of their body parts – did you know that ladybugs have tiny claws for feet? They’re called the tarsal claw. We’re implementing that knowledge by creating a paper maché ladybug sculpture.

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve noticed energy around building – homes, buildings, and vehicles. We talked to the students about what they’d like to study next, and construction emerged as a topic of shared interest. We’ve begun our investigation by converting the Bug Lab into the Architecture Studio, where Mariposa children are building with Kapla blocks, tracing skyscrapers to make blueprints, and using rulers and measuring tapes. We’ll also get inspired by a new batch of construction books, and I’m sure many engineering projects will emerge from there. If building, architecture, or construction are areas of interest for you, we welcome you to come visit our classroom as an “outside expert.” (We use “expert” very loosely). Please reach out to us!

Warmly,

Mariposa Teachers