Learning about the Life Cycle of Butterflies

 

The perfect lesson after last week’s on the life cycle of the frog (found here) was to learn about the life cycle of the butterfly.  I first have to apologize for the quality of the pictures.  I left my camera on vacation and was forced to use my flip phone-YES they are still around.  I started by letting the children leaf through about ten different books on caterpillars, butterflies, and their life cycle.  This has become such an important part of our class.  The kids are exposed to informational text, new vocabulary, and photographs of the subject that we are discussing.  I held up a picture of the life cycle and went through the different stages.  We talked about the word metamorphosis, as we had, when discussing the frog life cycle.  As we went through the cycle, the kids quickly went through their books and looked for pictures of what we were discussing.

Learning About the Life Cycle of Frogs

This week, we learned about amphibians and the life cycle of frogs.  We started out by looking through many books about frogs and their life cycle.  The kids loved looking at the pictures and pointing out the animals they recognized.  Many of the students had background knowledge on the life cycle and were able to identify pictures of frog eggs and tadpoles.

Experimenting With Eggs

Lately, we have been learning all about seeds.  We are switching now to exploring how different animals grow.  With Easter coming, we decided to start with eggs.  I began by reading Guess What is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada.

Exploring Seeds with Preschoolers

Last week, we looked at one seed, a bean seed.  This week, we examined and studied several different seeds.

Growing Bean Seeds with Preschoolers

I think that I speak for most of us in Michigan when I say, I AM READY FOR SPRING!  So ready, in fact, that I decided to skip to some of my spring lessons.  We began by reading “The Seed Song” by Judy Saksie.  There really isn’t too much to this book.  It is a song about growing seeds, but I really wanted to show the pictures to the children and I had it in big book format which made it even better.

 

Clouds and Cloud Dough With Preschoolers

After learning about the water cycle last week, I thought that it would be fun to do a review of what we learned and have some sensory play!  I began by using the felt water cycle illustrations and vocabulary.  We went through and discussed the cycle again.  I was really impressed with how much the preschoolers remembered from the prior week!

Learning About the Water Cycle with Preschoolers

This week, we learned about the Water Cycle!  In preparation, I checked out every book on the Water Cycle from the library. I put out a bunch of the books for the kids to look through.  The kids LOVED looking through these books!  There were a bunch of pictures of rain, snow, tornadoes, lightning, and all different kinds of weather.  Then we got down to business…

Phases of the Moon with Preschoolers

This week, I introduced the phases of the Moon to our Future Scientists.  We covered the New, First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter Moon phases.

Making Crystals with Preschoolers

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we decided to create beautiful crystals!  The kids designed their own shapes and were able to take home a gift for a loved one.

Observing Signs of Winter With Preschoolers

Last week, we went outside to observe the signs of winter.  It had been really, really cold around here so the kids had been inside for several days.  They were very happy to get out in the sun and snow!