up close and personal with our insects

I have the best tool to share with y'all today.
It's a microscope, but it connects to my computer through a USB cord (so you could connect to other things as well, I just don't have any other things!)

it's called the Digital Blue microscope. It's probably not the greatest microscope in the world, but I love that I can take photos, video, and the scope is removable for looking at things that I may not want to pick up! No, I'm not reviewing this baby! It was inherited with my room, but it's awesome! I found a few online!

Here are some of our pics from this week! Some were alive, others not.so.much. 

feel free to use any of these with your students!

It's also kinda fun to look at other things too! and completely kid friendly!

We've also had plenty of other life cycle fun with my Intro to Insects unit and Mealworms on Parade!!

takin notes on insect activity while it's still nice and warm!

found lots of insects in the neglected garden!

Wednesday we released our painted lady butterflies. This one wanted to stay!

I love this! We made birth certificates for our mealworms and he even made their little habitat!

If you are looking for lots of fun with insect life cycles that's super hands-on, try these!

and tomorrow we are using Cara's Hey Little Ant writing activity. We have an early release at lunch so it better take hours! 

week one with the mealworms plus chick eggs, crickets, a caterpillars!

Well, we are officially opening up a zoo!
not really
but it feels that way
we have always used several insects for observation during our life cycle unit
it just seemed to happen all at once this year!
Everything came within 2 days
rather than spaced out like we had planned
but I am nothing if not flexible!

So first things first-we began with our mealworm study
the caterpillars were fine in their cup
the crickets were in the closet
and the incubator was warming up waiting on the eggs

I thought I would try to supply to with some management tips if you alo teach life cycles!
one: everything needs a home and a label!

all eggs get a number and an X and 0 for turning purposes

all mealworms are in a personal habitat labeled with parent names

these are solo cups and lids. 

I've had lots of inquiries! 

Caterpillars actually stay in the container they arrive in. If you order a butterfly kit, this is how it will arrive.

You transfer them to the butterfly tent when they form their chrysalis by attaching the paper towel to the side of the tent. 

and for the lap of luxury

here's the cricket condo!

We attached 2 liter bottles to each side of a central container

one side is filled with moist soil for egg laying (which was all day long!)

and the other with dry sand

if the middle is the "play area" or "living room" 

haha

it just has paper towels and pieces of cardboard to prevent the inevitable cannibalism

now, don't get me wrong

it's a lot of work on my part

but if my class was a tad more well behaved, it would have been easy to do this with them!

they did set up their mealworm habitats

this is the creature they interact with the most

and they are by far the cleanest!

and they can survive falls from desks

and they can't hop too quickly to get away

you get the picture

so here's a peek at what we've done this week in science

these are our birth announcements

Next year I will do some for each insect

but this year they are all mealworms

these are included in my file as well as everything below

and lots of observing and recording

I admit this student may be slightly confused about her senses

she just came last week

it's not my fault! I kid...

so if you'd like to observe some little creatures with a complete metamorphosis

mealworms are definitely the way to go!

widely available at your local pet store

cheap in large quantities

and clean and easy!

I'm also adding a few more ideas to my unit as we go

I keep finding new ways to explore these boogers

so snatch it up now!

winner of the life cycle literacy centers!

Cherie won! Thanks for pinning along with me!

and thanks to Cupcake for the font, and KPM and Nikki for the graphics!

and looky what arrived a few days early-too early!! We're not ready! I'm trying to finish up the water cycle! 

and this 80 degree weather just calls for all day outdoor recess! Right! 

Well, longer than usual at least! My poor, white winter legs!! 

Don't fret-I was wearing full length pants. 

These legs will not see the light of day for a long time!

mealworms on parade and a giveaway!

I LOVE teaching science.
it’s the ultimate break in my day and the kids’ too
I love having a little discussion
{kids think they know everything about science}
then handing out materials and letting them go!
I have finally revamped our mealworm unit to share with you guys! It took awhile to make is useable for others besides myself!
Using mealworms is one of the best parts of our year {a close second behind hatching chickies}

Mealworms on Parade! {a life cycle unit for budding biologists!}

here's my previous post on mealworms

    

This week we began our Sound unit
admittedly, it’s hard to teach something you cannot see to 7 year olds
but they love it!

So far we’ve taken a little journey around the school to listen for sounds, loud sounds, and soft sounds. Part of the curriculum is volume and pitch. The next day we used tuning forks {large and small} and partners compared with another partnership to decide which was lower, high, louder, and softer.

then we observed and tested ways that sound could travel. I first had them brainstorm things they thought they’d be able to hear through. Seeing as how we have a symphony of boys bathroom sounds coming through our way minute by minute, we all knew sound can travel through brick!

After some discussion, I handed out wooden yard sticks, aluminum foil “yard sticks”, and tuning forks. After testing the given objects, we tested things around the room. I must say I thought the metal water bottles may damage my hearing!
Stay posted for freebies and such exploring sound as we move through this unit!
we also had a looonnnggg field trip yesterday to the Western NC Nature Center {1.5 hours away on a bus traveling 55 mph down I-40}
On the way there, I finally figured out Instagr.am! Why not be productive??! I am infatuated! Look for my Instagr.am link on the sidebar when I get that up!

First 2 people to comment on how they could use or need this Mealworm Unit get it FREE!!!

Proud New Parents!

This week we are the proud papas and mamas of literally over a 100 baby mealworms!!
They are part of our study of insect life cycles and it's quite amazing being able to have the go through a complete metamorphosis before your eyes.
Does anyone else care for mealworms or silkworms? We do chicks in the spring too and I am about pumped up for that! It's the greatest time ever!