Newsletter: September 5

Fun times at lunch!

Dear Families,

We are now at day ten - double digits! As these first few days pass the kids are growing more and more independent and familiar with the rhythms of second grade. This past week we've launched our first formal inquiries of the year in reading, writing, math, and science. Here are a few pics to show you what we've already been up to in science ...

A former classroom parent, Jenna Garraux, posted a pic to Facebook of the tomato horn worms
that were attacking her plants. I quickly shot her a message asking if she'd be willing to bring some
in and share them with our class. She agreed.

Here's a close of up a horn worm. Jenna brought in a graphic detailing the life cycle of
these creatures so the kids could see how they eventually grow into moths who then lay new
eggs and start the whole process over again. She also explained how wasps lay their eggs on the
body of the horn worms. When the baby wasps emerge from their eggs they then eat the caterpillar
as their very first meal. The kids were amazed by this!

Jenna also brought in a tomato plant to see could watch the caterpillars over the course
of a few days. During Explorations (first thirty minutes of the day) many of the kids were
eager to grab a hand lens and investigate.

Science is so cool! If you ever have anything you'd like to come in and share with us
please just let me know. We'd love to have you.

We had a second visitor last week. Gail, from the National Wildlife Foundation, came in to
talk to us about animal observation as well as structural and behavioral adaptations. It was great
having a visiting scientist to share stories and artifacts.

The kids have been hard at work making careful observations of various animals. We started
with meal worms.

Each table received one meal worm to observe while listing everything they noticed
in their science journals. Their observations included descriptions of the insect's size,
shape, color, texture, and movements.

We will soon be using these observations to sort into two categories:
physical attributes and behavioral attributes.

On Thursday, former CFI teacher Mr. O''Keefe will be bringing in some crickets for the
kids to observe and describe. These descriptions will soon open the door for us to begin asking
questions. And, of course, our questions will become the core of our future studies.

We also have an upcoming field trip to Sesquicentennial State Park where the kids
will participate in the Insectigations program with a park naturalist. Permission forms for
this trip will come home on Wednesday.

As you can see, there's lots to be excited about in science right now. Be sure to ask
your child all about it!