Search Results for: moth

September 11

Wild Words

“Vocabulary is not only a tool for communication but also a tool for comprehension and knowledge acquisition.” (Oxford Learning) Considerable research indicates a powerful correlation between the early acquisition of vocabulary and success in school.

I do love picture books, and The Keeper of Wild Words is my new favorite! The author, Brooke Smith, was inspired to write her bock when she discovered that over 100 words from the natural world, such as blackberries, minnows, and acorn, were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary because the publishers no longer felt the words were relevant for today’s children.

The sweet relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter is celebrated as they search for wild words together.

Let’s help preserve these words! Go for a walk with your family or students and identify the natural things you find or create a scavenger hunt with specific living and nonliving things to identify outdoors. Take photos and assemble a book with labels.

Go here to view this delightful story about the power of words full screen.


Go here to watch a story that addresses the challenges some children encounter with reading.

Reading to your children from a very young age is an important way to introduce new vocabulary. Time for read alouds in classrooms should never be sacrificed for other activities. It is paramount that children hear the rhythm and structure of language.

Related Posts: 

Power Words

Wonder Words

Synonyms

Word Collections from Max’s Words

Our Book of the Month Program: Why it Really Matters | Scholastic
Note: I’ve added some additional literature to several recent posts.

August 30

Capturing Caterpillars

It has been my intention over the last month to capture photos of caterpillars, and August and September are the best months to do just that. I was rewarded with a cornucopia of finds! My daughter thinks I am a caterpillar whisperer.




Be cautious handling any caterpillar! Some can cause serious infections and rashes. Especially warn children not to handle fuzzy caterpillars with bristles. I believe this caterpillar is the venomous American dagger caterpillar. There are five projecting black barbs.

  • Caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths. This stage usually last two weeks to one month.
  • After spending their days eating and growing, a butterfly caterpillar will form a chrysalis and a moth caterpillar a cocoon. (Yes, they really are very hungry caterpillars!)
  • Six small eyes arranged in a semicircle are on each side of its head.
  • Well-developed jaws (mandibles) allow them to easily tear off leaves and chop them into small pieces.
  • Setae and antennae help the caterpillar sense its surroundings.
  • A caterpillar has six true legs on its thorax. Prolegs or false legs are on the abdomen and help them grasp objects.
  • As they grow and exoskeletons become too tight, they will molt.
  • Spiracles, breathing pores, are on each side of their bodies.
  • Caterpillars utilize camouflage, mimicry, venomous hairs, or a bright warning color to protect themselves from predators.

Go here to view full screen.

Order caterpillars through Insect Lore and watch them move through metamorphosis. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” A great reminder for us all!!

Advanced vocabulary and many examples of alliteration fill the pages. Go to YouTube to listen here.

Clara Caterpillar by Edwards, Pamela Duncan Book The Fast Free Shipping ...

Use the following picture book to discuss elements that are real and those that are make-believe. Go here to watch full screen.

To watch full screen, go here. A great mentor text to introduce dialogue or identify character traits. Did the caterpillar become a butterfly or a moth? How do you know?

Related Posts:

Butterflies

Inchworms

August 2

Copperheads

When I was on a woodland walk, a hiker warned me that a copperhead snake was crossing the path just ahead. Copperheads are a venomous (not poisonous) snake common in Georgia and other parts of the Southeastern United States. It is easily recognized by what appears to be chocolate kisses running along its body.

  • Copperheads are ovoviviparous which means that eggs develop within the mother’s body and babies are born alive in early fall. They are independent and venomous from birth.
  • Young have a tail with a bright yellow tip for about a year that attracts frogs and lizards.
  • This pit viper easily camouflages itself in leaf litter on the woodland forest floor.

  • Like other reptiles, copperheads are cold blooded, and their bodies are covered with scales.
  • Most adults grow to lengths of two to three feet.
  • These vertebrates have muscular bodies and are excellent climbers.
  • During the hot summer months, copperheads are nocturnal, but in the fall, they are active during daytime hours.
  • Copperhead bites are rarely fatal.

I saw these copperheads on a hike in North Carolina.

A snake’s forked tongue darts in and out. Why? Watch below to learn more. Go here to view full screen.

Learn more about animal tongues with this engaging picture book:

July 31

Brown

Brown is a common color found in nature. Brainstorm a list of all the natural items that are brown with your children or students. Why do you think so many animals are brown?

Butterflies are often thought to be colorful, but recently I’ve come across some brown butterflies. What clues let me know that it’s not a moth?

During my watercolor lessons, I learned how to mix brown using complementary colors, colors that are across from each other on the color wheel. Examples are purple and yellow, orange and blue, as well as red and green. Your browns will vary depending upon whether you are using warm or cool varieties of the complementary colors. What a fun color mixing activity that may be a new challenge for your children or students.

The Secret to Using Complementary Colors Effectively

We can’t discuss the color brown without including chocolate! What do you know about chocolate? Go here to view full screen.

Category: Art, Science | LEAVE A COMMENT
June 26

Urban Gardens

No matter where we each live, there is always room for a garden! Perhaps the greatest need is in those places where concrete and steel have replaced the natural landscape. These picture books feature urban gardens:

One Little Lot – Charlesbridge

Uncle John's City Garden (Hardback or Cased Book) - Picture 1 of 1

Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden (Hardcover)

The Gardener occurs during the Depression and is arranged in a letter-writing format.

My backyard is shaded, and I have searched for a means to compactly grow herbs on my sunny deck. This slanted step garden box is on my wish list. Perfect for a small space too!

Walking a city block lined with window boxes brings me joy!



In a previous post, I also mentioned Flower Garden, a story in which a father helps his daughter create a window box for her mother.


Watch full screen here.

If the space outside for growing is restricted, try using food scraps to create a kitchen garden. Let me know in the comments if you try any of these ideas. Go here to watch full screen.

June 14

Butterflies

The Butterfly House is open at the Chattahoochee Nature Center! Each visitor is given a foam brush saturated in sugar water to attract and hold the butterflies. Many of them also land on unexpecting heads! Behind the Butterfly House, open through August 6th, is a pollinator loving native plant sale.


Click here to view full screen.

Another informative book to add to your science library:

Board book How Does a Butterfly Grow? Book

Click here for a post about the differences between moths and butterflies.

Click here for a post about pollinators.

Click here for a post about how to add symmetry to your study of butterflies.

Click here for a post about a butterfly’s proboscis.

Order caterpillars from Insect Lore and watch them move through metamorphosis.

Check out this engaging light investigation performed by the students at Science Akademeia.

Fun Facts:
A group pf butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
They can see a range of ultraviolet colors that are invisible to the human eye.
The monarch butterfly migrates every fall to the warmer climates of California and Mexico.
Butterflies have four wings covered with scales.
If temperatures are below 55 degrees, butterflies can’t fly.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelou

Don’t miss this sweet book too:

Arabella Miller´s Tiny Caterpillar Best Children Books, Toddler Books ...

December 27

Cardinals

Cardinals are a familiar songbird. They bring back sweet memories of my grandmother. She decorated her home with a blue and white theme but used pops of red (often cardinals) throughout the rooms. I often saw her sporting a red cardinal pin.

Cardinals also remind me of the holidays with their striking red feathers. Males are more colorful than females. Why? During my research, I discovered that cardinals are named after the Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church who wear red robes.

Click here to read about cardinals.

Click here to watch full screen.

This video goes into greater depth about cardinals. Click here to watch full screen.

An easy cardinal art project:


(Original artist unknown)

Category: Science | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 1

Moles

As I walked through my neighborhood, my eyes were suddenly drawn to this long mound in the grass. Moles had been at work!

Moles are small burrowing mammals that live mostly solitary lives underground. They have tiny eyes and front claws that are perfectly designed for digging tunnels and underground chambers. Their diet consists of invertebrates, especially worms and insect larvae. Although they aerate the ground and don’t eat plants, homeowners usually regard them as pests.

Moles are classified as mammals because they are warm-blooded, their body covering is fur, babies are born alive and young nurse on mother’s milk. They are sometimes mistakenly thought to be rodents.

Click here and here to learn more about moles. Click here to watch full screen.

Click here to watch A Friend for Mole on Safeshare.

See the source image

Click here for a previous post about subterranean animals.

October 10

Caves and Caverns

When I was growing up in Kentucky, my family visited Mammoth Cave and when I was teaching science, I chaperoned field trips to the Dahlonega Gold Mines. Click here for further information and photos of this field trip.

Because my husband and I couldn’t continue our journey to Glacier National Park, we explored some sights near Bozeman, Montana. One of those day trips led us to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.

The Lewis and Clark Caverns, Montana’s first state park, became federal property in 1908. Although they never entered the caverns, the park was named after Meriwether Lewis and William Clark whose expedition passed through the area as they explored the western portion of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. These caverns are unique because they are high in the mountains.

What is the difference between a cave and a cavern?  Caverns consist of a series of caves connected with one passage, while caves tend to consist of only one hollow.

We hiked to the entrance of the caverns. Although the outside temperature was nearly 80 degrees, the temperature remains approximately 48 degrees Fahrenheit inside the caverns.

The cathedral room was spectacular! The most common features were dripstone (soda straws, stalagmites, stalactites, and columns); flowstone (canopies, waterfalls, and cave bacon); and seepstone (cave popcorn and helicities).

I was hoping to see the resident Townsend’s big eared bats, but no luck on this visit.

Click here to view full screen.

Click here for full screen viewing.

We had fun spelunking!

Click here for full screen. Try this experiment:

The following humorous story can be used to teach prediction and persusaion, as well as the danger of making assumptions.

Click here to watch full screen.

Construct a cave inside or outside like the children do in the following story. What materials could you use-boxes, bed sheets…? Young children will enjoy the repetitive language in this imaginative text.

To watch full screen, click here.

Look at what this teacher did to transform her hallway and classroom! Crumbled brown paper makes it appear as though you are inside caverns. Use a cave unit to kick off a study of bats or bears. If you want to integrate art into a cave unit, make cave paintings


Photo credit: wwv.group.com

April 18

Inchworms – Math and Science

I discovered this inchworm climbing up my window frame. An inchworm isn’t a worm at all, but the larval stage or caterpillar of a geometer moth. All moths go through metamorphosis-egg, caterpillar (larva), pupa (cocoon), adult (moth). Inchworms are about an inch long and are commonly brown or green.

Do you see the six legs near its head? All insects have six legs. The inchworm’s name is derived from the way it arches to propel itself forward. Ask your children to move like an inchworm. Start in a plank, walk your feet toward your hands, and then walk your hands forward. Repeat.


Inch by Inch is an excellent book to teach beginning measurement skills. Cut green paper into inch strips (inchworms) and use them to measure items at home or in your classroom. Click here to watch the story.

Amazon.com: Inch by Inch: 9780375857645: Lionni, Leo: Books

Inchworm, performed by Danny Kaye in the movie Hans Christian Anderson, is a classic children’s song. Click here to watch him sing the song with the Muppets.