Weekly Update May 15th - Wings of Wonder: Inside Our Butterfly Unit at Fox Hill School

Reminders:

• May 19 - May 29th - Mystery Readers - Sign up HERE

• May 25th - Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

• May 26th - Silly Sock Day

• May 27th - Fox Hill School T-Shirt Day

• May 28th - Favorite Sport Day

• May 29th - Crazy Hat Day

• June 1st - Super Hero (real or made up) Day

• June 2nd - Crazy Hair Day

• June 3rd - Pajama Popcile Party!

• June 4th - Pajama Popcicle Party! - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

• June 5th - Graduation & Moving On Art Show 10am

It All Began With a Story (Or Two)

We wrapped up our trip around the world with one final week in Italy, and have moved on to studying a classic sign of spring, butterflies!

We read Gotta Go! Gotta Go! by Sam Swope to spark our curiosity about butterflies.  This book is a favorite and describes the story of a caterpillar driven by an unstoppable inner urge to travel south and transform. We all loved chanting the caterpillar’s refrain “I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!”

After reading Gotta Go! We wanted to learn more about butterflies so we read From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman.  This book follows a real classroom's experience watching a caterpillar transform. We introduced our own classroom butterflies and suddenly, science wasn't abstract —it was happening right here in our classroom!

Our classroom butterflies started as tiny caterpillars and spent their first week eating everything in their little cups.  They doubled or even tripled in size and then began crawling up to the top of their cups and to form their chrysalises.  Once in their chrysalises, it takes 10-14 days to become butterflies, so we are all eagerly waiting for our butterflies to emerge.  

From Observation to Creation: Drawing and Clay Work

Everyone has been so excited to check on our caterpillars and now chrysalises every morning and observe what is happening with them. One thing we learned on our trip to Reggio Emilia is that watching and observing are only the beginning. In order for students to deepen their understanding, they also need to represent what they are observing and learning.

Drawing the Chrysalis

In order to deepen our understanding of what was happening with the caterpillars, we decided to draw what we were seeing.  Observational drawing sharpens not only fine motor skills but also visual attention as children must slow down, really look, and make intentional marks on the page. 

Making Chrysalises in Clay

Two dimensional drawings didn't quite demonstrate what we were looking at, so we decided to use we clay to sculpt our own chrysalises. This was an important connection to our learning in Reggio Emilia and led to some fun discussions and hopefully deeper learning about our butterflies' life cycle.

Why Clay Matters in the Reggio Emilia Approach

Clay holds a particularly honored place in Reggio-inspired classrooms.  We observed so many amazing clay creations made by preschoolers in Reggio Emilia and learned a lot about the importance of clay in the classroom.  It is considered one of the richest and most versatile of the "languages" of the Reggio Emilia approach because of what it uniquely offers:

• Three-dimensionality: Unlike drawing on paper, clay allows children to explore form, volume, and structure from all angles and helps them build a more complete mental representation of what they are studying.

• Sensory engagement: The cool, mushy texture of clay engages the tactile senses in a way few other materials can. This full-body sensory experience supports memory and learning.

• Persistence and revision: Clay can be shaped, reshaped, and refined. Children learn that ideas are not fixed, that they can be revisited and improved.

• Intentional thinking: Working in clay requires children to think carefully about proportion, detail, and structure. It slows the process down and encourages deep focus.

• Connection between hand and mind: In Reggio, we learned that the hand is not separate from thinking; it is thinking. Working with clay strengthens the connection between a child's inner understanding and their ability to express it.

  
  

Making our chrysalises by rolling, shaping, and smoothing the clay was a fun way to connect what the teachers learned in Reggio Emilia with what the class was learning about this stage of the butterfly life cycle. 

Expanding Horizons: An Exploration of Insects

Our study of butterflies and the abundance of insects out on the playground led us to wonder about the broader world of insects. We began asking questions: Where do insects live? Which ones do we like? Which ones scare us?

These conversations have been lively and full of personality. Children have shared their feelings freely and while some are enthusiastic insect admirers, others are less sure.  We have had many conversations about how insects live outside and are not something we need to be afraid of – even the bees!

The Dead Bee: A Teachable Moment

We were lucky enough to find a dead bee outside on the playground,

so naturally we brought it inside, put it in a glass jar and were able to examine it without fear of being stung. We noticed its fuzzy body, its wings, and its legs in particular. We talked about bees' important role in pollination and in providing us with food.  While some students are still unsure about the bee, others really enjoyed seeing one up close. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Literacy, Math, and Dramatic Play

No butterfly study would be complete without The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle — so we made sure we read and discussed this famous book.

Sequencing and Counting

As we read together, we have focused on sequencing the foods the caterpillar eats across the days of the week. Keeping track of what comes first, second, third, and so on builds the logical, ordered thinking that promotes reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning.

We have also been counting the fruit in the story, turning each page into a mini math lesson: one apple, two pears, three plums, and so on. This allowed us to practice one-to-one correspondence and number recognition in a fun way.

Acting It Out: Dramatic Play and Storytelling

Using plastic fruit and a stuffed caterpillar, we have been acting out the story.  This helps deepen comprehension of the story, practice sequencing, and work on social skills.  We had so much fun “feeding” our caterpillar all kinds of different foods. 

Eric Carle's Collage Technique: Making Our Own Painted Paper Collage

Eric Carle is famous not only for his stories but for his distinctive illustration style: textured collages made from hand-painted paper. After spending time looking closely at the illustrations in the book, we decided to try it ourselves.

We used leftover painted paper that we had from other activities and cut and tore it into shapes, then glued these shapes to a background. This was a good way to create art and recycle!

What Comes Next?

We are still working on our patience and waiting for our butterflies to hatch.  We are ready with sugar water and orange slices to feed them and magnifying glasses to observe.  Hopefully it happens soon, and we can catch the butterflies emerging from their chrysalises!  Stay tuned!

Follow along with our classroom adventures by checking back on our school blog. We can't wait to share what happens next.