Sunday: I've decided to remove the two discolored caterpillars from the rearing boxes and to give them a box of their own with milkweed leaves. At 3:00 pm. I fed them four milkweed leaves that I cleaned with 10% bleach solution. They are in a rearing box set-up that I have used successfully for many years. I placed the leaves gently on top of the caterpillars. Immediately they became active. One began eating within the first minute, the second began eating within the first 5 minutes. At the present time they are resting.
I am now thinking that before we introduce milkweed to the other containers, perhaps we should adjust the temperature. During the day, we've been able to keep the temperature at 70 degrees in the classroom. At night, it has most likely been 68 degrees. If we brought the temperature up to the mid-seventies, perhaps we will observe some change in the caterpillars' level of activity and interest in the food. Changing the temperature is something we can do without altering the Plan B set-up.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
November 20-21 2009 Day 5 and Day 6
Friday: Kindergarten continued to observe the caterpillars today and worked through a project-related math game in which each child marked a path for the space shuttle to fly to the ISS. The game was played on a graph and pathways were created by marking boxes corresponding to consecutive rolls of a die. New information was posted on the project information board about the STS-129 mission. Temperatures remain steady throughout the day at 70 degrees F and 20 degrees C in the classroom.
Saturday afternoon: In two rearing boxes, I observed two caterpillars unusually dark and splotchy; others in the same boxes are still brightly colored and stripes are visible. In the same two boxes, caterpillars are slightly smaller and thinner and there is little frass on the bottom. In two other rearing boxes, caterpillars are brightly colored and their stripes are visible. They are slightly larger and a bit more active than the others. There is more frass in the bottom of these two containers but truthfully, not what I've been expecting.
I am concerned by the observations made today. Something doesn't seem right. I have seen caterpillars become discolored like this a few times during the summer when I've hand-raised caterpillars collected from the wild. I've seen the same thing happen a few times with caterpillars I've ordered from Monarch Watch. Caterpillars that I've seen with this same kind of splotchy discoloration have died prior to the chrysalis stage.
Indeed, I am concerned by the discoloration of two of the caterpillars. I am even more concerned about the slow growth of the caterpillars as evidenced by skinny caterpillar bodies and frass that doesn't seem much bigger than it was on Day 2.
I am wondering if there is a problem with food, light, temperature, or humidity and wonder if in some way we've gone astray in meeting the needs of these gentle, fragile creatures even though we are doing our best to follow the Monarchs In Space Plan B guide.
I wonder what information I can find on the Monarchs In Space forum that would help me sort out my concerns at this time and help me figure out what to do next. I feel a bit helpless.
If the problem is somehow food related, one ray of hope remains: we've had an unusually warm fall here in southeastern Pennsylvania and several stalks of milkweed still sport fairly fresh green leaves. If needed we could introduce fresh milkweed to the caterpillars.
I'll think it over tonight.
Saturday afternoon: In two rearing boxes, I observed two caterpillars unusually dark and splotchy; others in the same boxes are still brightly colored and stripes are visible. In the same two boxes, caterpillars are slightly smaller and thinner and there is little frass on the bottom. In two other rearing boxes, caterpillars are brightly colored and their stripes are visible. They are slightly larger and a bit more active than the others. There is more frass in the bottom of these two containers but truthfully, not what I've been expecting.
I am concerned by the observations made today. Something doesn't seem right. I have seen caterpillars become discolored like this a few times during the summer when I've hand-raised caterpillars collected from the wild. I've seen the same thing happen a few times with caterpillars I've ordered from Monarch Watch. Caterpillars that I've seen with this same kind of splotchy discoloration have died prior to the chrysalis stage.
Indeed, I am concerned by the discoloration of two of the caterpillars. I am even more concerned about the slow growth of the caterpillars as evidenced by skinny caterpillar bodies and frass that doesn't seem much bigger than it was on Day 2.
I am wondering if there is a problem with food, light, temperature, or humidity and wonder if in some way we've gone astray in meeting the needs of these gentle, fragile creatures even though we are doing our best to follow the Monarchs In Space Plan B guide.
I wonder what information I can find on the Monarchs In Space forum that would help me sort out my concerns at this time and help me figure out what to do next. I feel a bit helpless.
If the problem is somehow food related, one ray of hope remains: we've had an unusually warm fall here in southeastern Pennsylvania and several stalks of milkweed still sport fairly fresh green leaves. If needed we could introduce fresh milkweed to the caterpillars.
I'll think it over tonight.
Friday, November 20, 2009
November 19, 2009 Day 4
Today we completed another caterpillar observation on the Day 4 page of our journals. We made our observations as young scientists, trying our best to draw what we saw inside the rearing boxes. Teacher: What do you see today? What do you observe the caterpillars doing? What can you draw that will help you remember what it looks like right now? As they worked, kindergartners talked about their observations with their peers and teachers.
We talked about the astronaut's first space walk today. We thought about how astronauts would be suited and tethered for their first spacewalk today. The caterpillars, however, would not be suited for a spacewalk out of the ISS as they are safely confined to their boxes. How does a caterpillar move around? On earth? In space? This is one of the questions the astronauts could try and answer in space while we understand it better on earth. We found out that caterpillars on earth "tether" themselves to whatever they are crawling across with a thread of silk produced near their "chins." Then, they crawl across it and attach to it with little hooks in their "feet." When the caterpillars walk across the plastic wrap window, we can easily see the "suction cup" feet and the 6 legs near the head of our caterpillars. In two of our containers we can see some silk the caterpillars are making on the sides.
We looked at photos from space posted on the website to see what the caterpillars are doing in space. We noticed that the caterpillars are "hanging on" and moving up and down across and through the food containers, just like they are doing in our classroom! We were surprised they weren't floating. We think they are tethered like the astronauts are during a spacewalk. As we clicked through the photos, the children shared their observations: "Look! One is the color of a rainbow! How did that happen? Why aren't ours like that?" "Two are sleeping." "One is moving around a lot."
We talked about the astronaut's first space walk today. We thought about how astronauts would be suited and tethered for their first spacewalk today. The caterpillars, however, would not be suited for a spacewalk out of the ISS as they are safely confined to their boxes. How does a caterpillar move around? On earth? In space? This is one of the questions the astronauts could try and answer in space while we understand it better on earth. We found out that caterpillars on earth "tether" themselves to whatever they are crawling across with a thread of silk produced near their "chins." Then, they crawl across it and attach to it with little hooks in their "feet." When the caterpillars walk across the plastic wrap window, we can easily see the "suction cup" feet and the 6 legs near the head of our caterpillars. In two of our containers we can see some silk the caterpillars are making on the sides.
We looked at photos from space posted on the website to see what the caterpillars are doing in space. We noticed that the caterpillars are "hanging on" and moving up and down across and through the food containers, just like they are doing in our classroom! We were surprised they weren't floating. We think they are tethered like the astronauts are during a spacewalk. As we clicked through the photos, the children shared their observations: "Look! One is the color of a rainbow! How did that happen? Why aren't ours like that?" "Two are sleeping." "One is moving around a lot."
November 18, 2009 Day 3
It was a very busy day on earth-and in space! We watched NASA TV for a short time to understand how the shuttle was going to dock with the space station. We tuned in briefly later in the afternoon to see the astronauts on board the International Space Station. We were able to see Nicole at work at her computer and two other astronauts "floating" by!
During storytime today, we used childrens' reference books with eye-catching illustrations and interesting text to understand a little bit more about the ISS. In doing so, we read a little bit about suiting for a spacewalk, working in space, and came across information about using tethers, handholds, and footholds in space so things and people don't float away, including astronauts when they are spacewalking. A few photos led us to consider the differences in how astronauts sleep and eat while in space.
After learning that astronaut food is often prepared with dry ingredients, mixed with water, and slurped with a straw, we endeavored to make a snack that we could slurp through a straw. Thus, the Strawberry-Banana smoothie cooking project unfolded. Kindergartners prepared their own smoothies at the KinderCooks table, slicing chunks of banana and strawberries that were mixed with 6 oz of milk and blended into a flavored froth with a blender and a very patient parent helper! We had a lot of fun slurping our smoothies, astronaut-style.
During storytime today, we used childrens' reference books with eye-catching illustrations and interesting text to understand a little bit more about the ISS. In doing so, we read a little bit about suiting for a spacewalk, working in space, and came across information about using tethers, handholds, and footholds in space so things and people don't float away, including astronauts when they are spacewalking. A few photos led us to consider the differences in how astronauts sleep and eat while in space.
After learning that astronaut food is often prepared with dry ingredients, mixed with water, and slurped with a straw, we endeavored to make a snack that we could slurp through a straw. Thus, the Strawberry-Banana smoothie cooking project unfolded. Kindergartners prepared their own smoothies at the KinderCooks table, slicing chunks of banana and strawberries that were mixed with 6 oz of milk and blended into a flavored froth with a blender and a very patient parent helper! We had a lot of fun slurping our smoothies, astronaut-style.
November 17, 2009 Day 2
We will be learning more about the space shuttle and its crew of astronauts with daily updates from the Monarchs In Space website. Today we found out that the space shuttle is named Atlantis. The STS-129 Mission has an official logo; the astronauts of the STS-129 Mission wear the patch on their suits. We have a patch in the classroom to look at. The space shuttle is an orbiter. It is traveling around the earth, out in space. It is flying to the International Space Station called the ISS. and carrying equipment, tools, and parts for the space station in addition to experiments. One of their experiments is the caterpillar experiment that we know as Monarchs In Space.
The crew has a commander, a pilot, and mission specialists. They are all astronauts. They will fly the shuttle to the ISS to meet another astronaut who has been living on the ISS for two months. They will bring her home when they return to earth. On Wednesday, the space shuttle will meet the ISS and "dock" so the astronauts can board the space station. We have reference books, photos, and kindergartners' drawings in our classroom hanging above our "All About Space" table.
In addition, we have posted a calendar to count the days the caterpillars are in space, we have a posted a thermometer to measure the room temperature near the rearing boxes, we have pictures of the astronauts (the space-bound crew) and a class photo of kindergarten (the earth-bound crew) hanging by the table. Every morning a brief update about the upcoming day is posted.
Today in our journals, we explored how to put shapes together to represent our ideas of spaceships, real and imaginary.
November 16, 2009 Day 1 The Launch
9:30 am Kindergartners unpacked the rearing boxes this morning and positioned them on their sides on the observation table in our classroom. We made observations and the first entry in our journals. (Note: Though project protocol requires us to keep the caterpillars in complete darkness until the day the astronauts transfer the rearing chambers the ISS, we chose to keep our rearing chambers on the observation table during the time the kindergartners were in the room so they could make daily observations.) We have 4 rearing boxes; three with 3 caterpillars, one with 4 caterpillars. The observation table is in an area of the room that averages 70 degrees F/20 degrees C.
Today we observed several caterpillars on the milkweed "pesto" in the food boxes, several on the edges of the food boxes, and several on the "ceiling" of the box, being very still. A kindergartner noticed tiny rounds of caterpillar poop. This news spread like wildfire. Kindergartners remembered that we used the word "frass" in September when we observed monarch caterpillars in the terrarium. Kindergartners practiced making written records with drawings of their observations of the caterpillars.
2:00 pm Kindergarten was invited to the blue rug during cooperative play time to explore NASA's website page featuring NASA TV. Projected on to a screen in our room from the computer, live video from the launch site showed various angles of the space shuttle on the launch pad, mission control, computerized maps of the position of the International Space Station, and spectators. A few kindergartners showed up early to watch but at 2:20 pm, we gathered all kindergartners to watch the launch. It was very, very exciting. There was a buzz in the air as we saw the countdown at 1 minute 30 seconds...and then just before 2:28 pm, the final seconds, with the Atlantis crew in charge, we counted along: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Lift-off! "Monarchs are in space!" we cheered on the caterpillars and the astronauts. We watched as various cameras captured images of the first 11 minutes in space. Eyes were riveted to the screen until we had to pack up for dismissal.
Today we observed several caterpillars on the milkweed "pesto" in the food boxes, several on the edges of the food boxes, and several on the "ceiling" of the box, being very still. A kindergartner noticed tiny rounds of caterpillar poop. This news spread like wildfire. Kindergartners remembered that we used the word "frass" in September when we observed monarch caterpillars in the terrarium. Kindergartners practiced making written records with drawings of their observations of the caterpillars.
2:00 pm Kindergarten was invited to the blue rug during cooperative play time to explore NASA's website page featuring NASA TV. Projected on to a screen in our room from the computer, live video from the launch site showed various angles of the space shuttle on the launch pad, mission control, computerized maps of the position of the International Space Station, and spectators. A few kindergartners showed up early to watch but at 2:20 pm, we gathered all kindergartners to watch the launch. It was very, very exciting. There was a buzz in the air as we saw the countdown at 1 minute 30 seconds...and then just before 2:28 pm, the final seconds, with the Atlantis crew in charge, we counted along: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Lift-off! "Monarchs are in space!" we cheered on the caterpillars and the astronauts. We watched as various cameras captured images of the first 11 minutes in space. Eyes were riveted to the screen until we had to pack up for dismissal.
November 13, 2009
With the Monarchs In Space project protocol as the guide , kindergartners worked in small groups with their teacher to assemble the rearing chambers with the appropriate items as seen in the directions. We talked about how we would make observations of our caterpillars in the classroom as the astronauts plan to do in space when they are aboard the International Space Station.
Kindergartners transferred the green food substance into the feeding boxes before they were glued into place. Inside the rearing boxes, two pieces of fabric were positioned at the top and bottom, and a small red container for nectar was adhered nearby. As we put the food substance into the feeding boxes, we talked about how we had made pesto with the basil leaves from our garden last month and how this caterpillar food could have been made the same way using milkweed, the food of the monarch caterpillar. After the caterpillars were gently moved with a tiny brush into the rearing boxes, the boxes were closed with plastic wrap and rubber bands.
Kindergartners transferred the green food substance into the feeding boxes before they were glued into place. Inside the rearing boxes, two pieces of fabric were positioned at the top and bottom, and a small red container for nectar was adhered nearby. As we put the food substance into the feeding boxes, we talked about how we had made pesto with the basil leaves from our garden last month and how this caterpillar food could have been made the same way using milkweed, the food of the monarch caterpillar. After the caterpillars were gently moved with a tiny brush into the rearing boxes, the boxes were closed with plastic wrap and rubber bands.
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