Caterpillar Observation Update

Our class has been very excitedly watching our caterpillars growing and eating.  Every morning, everyone RUSHES over to see how they are doing.  We have noticed a lot of changes lately.  We also have been writing in these journals called "My Butterfly Observations".  We write about the life cycle 1 or 2 days a week.  We noticed that they have been eating and there's a lot of poop in the container!  We have been doing a lot of work on butterfly journals.  Our larvae has gotten very big now.  Our caterpillars have been getting a lot of fuzz on them.  They are molting lots of skin.  We are hoping they will make their chrysalis soon - around June 1st.  Caterpillars are getting long.  The butterflies fly to Mexico and they find a lot of butterflies.  (We read about the migration of Monarch butterflies in a book today.  They fly south for the winter to warm places like Mexico).  Right now the caterpillars are shedding their skin.  Our class is doing a live stream of our butterflies.  It's a live stream in our blog and Miss Matsumoto set up a camera to watch the caterpillars.  (A live stream is a video that shows our caterpillars in REAL time.  We hope to watch them over the weekend a bit when we are away from school  We predicted that this weekend, some may go into their chrysalis.)  The caterpillars are almost in the chrysalis stage and they are fatter.  If they turn into their pupas, they try to put all of the body into the pupa and then they wait.  The chrysalis becomes transparent, then you can see them.  Then they can go outside and they make their wings so they can fly.  I have been noticing a lot of webby stuff in the containers.  And we think that is their skin shedding.  After this, you should check out our caterpillar video that we put on our blog too!

Written by EVERYONE in Room 163

Live Stream of the Butterflies

Live streaming video by Ustream

Our Butterfly Journals and Experience

Wednesday, May 21

Wednesday, May 21

Wednesday, May 21

Wednesday, May 21

Friday, May 23

Friday, May 23

Monday, May 26

Monday, May 26

Monday, May 26

On Wednesday, May 21st we got a package with larvae in it.  Larvae are lots of little, tiny caterpillars.  First they started out in a tiny egg.  And then they turned into the larva.  And they will turn into big caterpillars and then they will make a pupa and they will sleep for a bit and then when they wake up they will break through and they will become a butterfly!  - Sierra

Some caterpillars are eating nutrients.  Caterpillars eat leaves and nutrients.  Caterpillars eat a lot of them.  And the caterpillars are getting big.  Caterpillars are this size of caterpillars.  And they are going to be a butterfly soon.  If they eat a lot of nutrients or leaves. Caterpillars sleep in the pupa.  The caterpillar just sleep a while to be a butterfly.  And the caterpillar is shaking and it gets out and turns into a butterfly.  The caterpillar is in Mrs. Kochan's class on a plate.   - M.

On Wednesday, May 21st we got a package with larvae in it.  Larvae are the caterpillars when they just come out of their tiny eggs.  We got them because we are going to watch their life cycle.  When we first got them, they were REALLY tiny.  But now, they have fuzz on them and they are getting fatter and they are longer.  They are almost full grown caterpillars.  They are going to grow up to be Painted Lady Butterflies.  We are sharing our larvae with Mrs. Kochan's class.  When we got them, Miss Matsumoto, our teacher and Mrs. Kochan had to make a special food for them to eat.  It's called nutrient.  They put the nutrient in the little plastic cups and we put the larvae in them.  They had a lot of nutrient in the cups and now there isn't so much.  The larvae have ate a lot.  - Ella

On Wednesday, we got a package.  In the package was larvae.  Do you know why we have larvae?  Because we are watching their life cycles - how they hatch from their egg and then turn into butterflies.  But we didn't get to watch them hatch from their eggs, they came as larvae.  Our class and Mrs. Kochan's class are sharing the larvae so we can look at them everyday so we can see if they have grown bigger or longer.  Some of classmates can see that they have some fuzz on them.  They were small on Friday, but over the weekend they ate a lot and they grew bigger and longer.  The butterflies that they are going to grow into are Painted Lady Butterflies.  Everyday, our class and Mrs. Kochan's class goes to look at the little caterpillars to see if they have grown bigger.  We have journals to write what we have seen for the caterpillars.  Lots of the caterpillars are shedding their skin.  When they are full grown, they make their chrysalis.  When they make their chrysalis', they are going to make them on their lid.  Then we will take the lids off and put them in this tent thing for the butterflies.  We have over 30 larvae.  I think that's all you need to know for right now, bye! - Evva

On Wednesday, we got a package!  In the package there was larvae.  We got the larvae because we are learning about their life cycles.  We put the larvae in little cups and Miss Matsumoto and another teacher, Mrs. Kochan had to make some food called nutrients for them.  They used to be really small but now they are getting pretty big.  Soon they will be making a pupa.  A pupa is a chrysalis.  They are going to be sleeping in the chrysalis for a little while and when they are ready they are going to come out of the chrysalis and become butterflies.  The type of butterflies we are getting is Painted Ladies.  We also have some Butterfly Journals where we are writing about them.  When they become butterflies we are going to let them go outside.  Now we are going to be learning about some different life cycles.  - Stella  

I can't wait until our butterflies grow into Painted Lady Butterflies!!!  - Lexie

Last week we got larvae in a package.  Larvae is a little innsy binsy caterpillar, but it's not fully grown.  After we got our larvae we were studying about butterflies and also we are working on Butterfly JOURNALS!  We are writing in our butterfly journals about what they butterfly's life is like.  Today, we watched a butterfly video about life cycles.  It was moving pictures of a real butterfly and words that are below the picture.  - Lara

On Wednesday, we got a package of larvae.  And we were learning about them before we got the package.  Then now today we were learning about other animals, I thought that we were just learning about butterflies, but Miss Matsumoto said that we were learning about more than just butterflies.  In June, we will have groups of three and then we are going to learn about other animals.  We have to decide as a group what animal we are doing and we have to take turns. - Lara

We got some larvae.  They've been eating nonstop.  Sometimes they rest.  They got bigger.  Some are still small.  They are going to be Painted Lady Butterflies.  - Isabella 

The Best Field Trip Ever...to the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach!!!!

The Blacksmith Shop

Heavy Harness Horses (HHH)

The Barn near the Petting Zoo

The Windmill

Welcome.  These are our pictures from our field trip to the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.  It was really fun!  Some of us even got to buy candy from the candy store.  In Steinbach there was lots of little houses and other things.  There was even a petting zoo!  Group 2 went into the big red barn and we heard peeping, but we couldn't find the chicks.  On the wagon ride, it was really cool.  The horses were called heavy harness horses.  Steinbach is really cool.  In the windmill, it was really cool.  In the windmill, they make flour.  When we went on the wagon ride, the guy showed us lots of things that the horses can do.  When we were up in the windmill, the man pushed the windmill so that it would go.  It actually worked!!  It was really exciting to go to Steinbach for our field trip.   - Evva

We went to Steinbach and we see everything in Steinbach.  And we went to the blacksmith and the mud house and a horse ride and we have lunch and we went to the windmill.  In the mud house, he tell us a story and the mud house was old.  They used it in the winter.  We like Steinbach and we went to gym after the field trip, but we used the bus to go back from the field trip.  P.S. We have  a great field trip. From yesterday in Steinbach.- M.

Yesterday, we went to Steinbach for a field trip.  It was AWESOME!  We went inside a real windmill.  And it was cool because the miller showed us how you would make flour in the windmill.  We went on a wagon ride and while we were waiting for the other group to get back, we were watching chickens at the barn.  And I saw two lambs and a baby cow in the back.  And then we had lunch.  After lunch, my group went to the blacksmith's and we made little metal rings out of nails.  It was REALLY cool.  Then after that all the groups got free time and my group went into the General Store and bought candy.  Well, some of us bought candy with our own money, but for the people who didn't bring money, our teacher bought us some gummy bears. - Ella

Yesterday, we went to Steinbach.  We were really tired and we needed to walk very far away.  In Group 4, we went to the Blacksmith first.  We made metal rings and we even made our own rings.  The man taught us how to make the rings and he made lots of horse shoes, we even found many horse shoes nailed to the ceiling.  There was a fire there.  He used the fire and a metal thing and he was firing the metal so it easy to bend it into a horse shoe.  When we were done going to the blacksmith, we went to the mud house.  They showed us all of the things they do in the mud house and told us a story about the pioneers.  When we were waiting for the other group for the wagon ride, we went to the petting zoo.  When they were done it was our turn.  We talked all about the things they do with the horses.  Then after that we had extra time in the wagon ride because we were the last ones in the wagon ride.  Because it was lunch time, we were dropped off by the wagon by village centre.  When we were passing by, there was a lady standing there which was really scary.  It was a statue.  - Lara

Yesterday, our class and two other classes went on a field trip to Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.  It was REALLY fun.  They told us what it was like a long time ago and what they had to do a long time ago and what they could play with a long time ago.  First Group 2 made little rag dolls.  Then we drew faces on them.  The boys got little black round things for hats and girls got lace for bonnets.  Then Group 2 went on a wagon ride.  The man told us about the horses.  The horses are called HHH, short for heavy harness horses.  Then we got in the wagon and we went on a wagon ride.  After that, we went to the blacksmith.  There we saw a guy making a rose out of metal.  Then we made rings.  We had to hammer one side into an oval and also the other side.  Then we lifted it up and we had a ring.  Then we had lunch.  I tripped and I fell and I got a bad scab on my knee.  Oh no!   Then Group 2 went to a place called Semlin.  That's a mud house.  We went inside and a long time ago that used to be a house.  The guy inside of it showed us around and then he read us a story called "Sush".  It was about a girl who moved to Canada that was the only house.  Then we had some free time, and then we went to the petting zoo and the General Store.  Our entire Group 2 got candy.  Then we went back to school.  - Stella

Yesterday we went to the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.  We went with two other classes, Miss Hogue and Mrs. Kochan's, but Mrs. Kochan didn't come because she got hit in the head with Frisbee and she broke her nose bone.  And we went there on a bus.  In Steinbach, we went to the village centre to put our backpacks down and then we went to different places.  First we went to the Blacksmith.  We made rings.  It was really hard for some of us to make rings, but it wasn't hard for me - it was easy.  Next we went to the mud house.  There was a guy and he asked us some questions.  And when we went inside, I was thinking that I wouldn't want to live in there!  He told us a story inside.  After we went to make dolls.  First we were supposed to have this rag and then we put a cotton ball near the top in the middle and the we grabbed the corners and pulled it over the cotton ball until we couldn't see it.  Then you need a partner and you are supposed to hold the cotton ball.  Shayla was my partner and she helped me try to tie a knot.  She need a bit of help.  So then we were supposed to tie knots from the two corners and when I lifted mine up, mine looked like an angel.  And I did the knots all by myself.  And then we went on our wagon ride...to be continued...-Lexie

Yesterday was our field trip day.  We went to the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.  I was in Group 3 with Ella and Skylar and other people.  We were at our first stop, the mud house.  We went inside and then we didn't see any mud as walls.  But I looked at the corner top and there was a bit of mud.  After we explored the mud house, a guy read us a story.  It was called Sush.  After he read the story, we went to make dolls.  -Lara