blackcat Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Hi looking for some direction and fresh ideas for a 3 to 4 week on the theme of spring. We teach a creative curriculum in school which gives me a good scope of learning opportunities for rec/yr1/yr2 class. I would be very grateful for any support.
Guest Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 have you ever raised caterpillars in class? I got 5 for about £15 from insectlore last year and my class (including me and the other staff) were fascinated. The butterflies were so tame when they emerged that they would happily sit on your hand/ shoulder etc. In fact when we first tried to release them they all had a little fly then came back to us so we ended up taking them back inside for a few days. When they finally went it was a really beautiful moment Obviously we did lots of work based around the very hungry caterpillar and other books about caterpillars and butterflies too! We made a fab video with the digiblue camera by painting the children's fingers green to be the tiny caterpillar and using real fruit, then we used our hungry caterpillar puppet (kindly made by my mum) as the big caterpillar. The children made a collaged chrysalis and a big butterfly for the end, which I filmed one of the children flapping across the playground. Our G&T reader narrated the story and we put it all together into a little film. Quite brilliant (if I do say so myself!!)
blackcat Posted February 19, 2011 Author Posted February 19, 2011 Hi that sounds great my little county bumpkins would love that Thank you for sharing all I could think of was daffodil windmills.
mundia Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 If you are raising caterpillars or ladybirds, please ensure you get British bred ones.. a number of companies get them from Belgium. I always used the green gardener for mine Its good to get out and look for signs of spring around your setting, and I love the book 'When will it be spring' Catherine Walters
Guest LornaW Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 Also pick some pussy willow and some catkins and put in a vase of water and you will soon see the leaves bursting out - the children will be fascinated! Go for a listening walk and hear the birds. Make a bird table soemwhere near your classroom window qnd watch the birds feeding. Also if you can get some of the felt making wool and hang it in those old washing poweder string bags children will see the birds taking it away for next building. You could build a hide near you bird table and let the children learn how to quietly watch the birds. Lorna
blackcat Posted February 20, 2011 Author Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) If you are raising caterpillars or ladybirds, please ensure you get British bred ones.. a number of companies get them from Belgium.I always used the green gardener for mine Its good to get out and look for signs of spring around your setting, and I love the book 'When will it be spring' Catherine Walters Thanks for advise Greengardners I see also has some helpful tips Edited February 20, 2011 by blackcat
blackcat Posted February 20, 2011 Author Posted February 20, 2011 Also pick some pussy willow and some catkins and put in a vase of water and you will soon see the leaves bursting out - the children will be fascinated!Go for a listening walk and hear the birds. Make a bird table soemwhere near your classroom window qnd watch the birds feeding. Also if you can get some of the felt making wool and hang it in those old washing poweder string bags children will see the birds taking it away for next building. You could build a hide near you bird table and let the children learn how to quietly watch the birds. Lorna Brilliant ideas thank you I am going to enjoy experience of Spring theme as much as kids
Guest Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 If you are raising caterpillars or ladybirds, please ensure you get British bred ones.. a number of companies get them from Belgium. I always used the green gardener for mine Insectlore also use British Bred caterpillars (I don't know about ladybirds) and last time I looked were a bit cheaper than green gardener but that was last year so check both xxx
finleysmaid Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 ok am i missing something here???? we always collect caterpillars from the area and use these...it means we know what food they like and the food is easily collectable daily to replenish. I have looked online and cant find anything that would suggest this is not advised....the only thing i would say is that we have in the past picked up a really interesting caterpillar that turned out to be a moth species that overwinters as a cocoon! ... a bit long to wait for results ladybirds can also be collected ...they too have favourite foods so you need to watch where you collect them
Guest Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 I'm just too lazy to go out looking for caterpillars Fin!! The ones that you buy come in their own little pot with all the food they need so it's just much easier. Nothing wrong with collecting them yourself (except for not knowing what they're going to be!!) xxx
finleysmaid Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 fortunately i liive quite close to the pre-school and have a dog to walk so we often spot them on the way round then go on an 'expedition' with the children knowing full well where i am likely to find the wiggly fellows last year got caught out as it was a very hot day and they were all hiding...but it gave us an excuse to go and explore my allotment and taste all the goodies on offer ,,,always ladybirds there and lots of larvae which i find fascinating especially the fact they are larger than the parents!
mundia Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 Of course collecting your own is a great option, do this with ladybirds, as their favourite food is aphid, and Im also fascinated with the size of the larvae..some of them are huge!
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