Erin and Kevin's Class Notes

This month and last, four caterpillars made their homes in our classroom, emerging into beautiful Monarchs. We named them Sparky, Vanilla, Baby Lily and Chocolate, in order of their births. Fortunately the weather was warm enough to release them, and we wished them well on their journeys to a warmer climate. We were very lucky to witness Sparky come out of the chrysalis while we were reading A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston. We also got to see Chocolate weave himself into his chrysalis! It's been an exciting time for Monarchs in our classroom.

Last week we met Gian Carlo Feleppo, a local musician who will be working with our class and Emily's for the next 5 weeks. He began by playing ABC on the sitar, instantly mesmerizing all of us. He introduced us to other instruments, letting us play some of them together. We counted notes, distinguished between high and low notes, and learned about different stringed instruments. We also learned the difference between acoustic and electric. Our jam session at the end was a combination of both.

We have also been constructing small huts out of cardboard, tape, sticks and plant materials. Julie and RJ's class asked us to build some for a model of the playground they are creating. They will be presenting their ideas at the Long Range Planning Workshop this Wednesday at 6pm. We collected sticks and other materials from outside with the help of some of the older students. Over the last two weeks we have been building with them, as well as cardboard and tape. The results are impressive!