Everyone Loves a Ladybug!
After learning all about caterpillars and butterflies, we moved on to another favorite Eric Carle story to learn all about ladybugs. The Grouchy Ladybug is always a fun story to remind us how we should treat each other and explore the tough issue of bullying.
We began as we usually do with any story: sequencing. This story, however, gave us a new and unique opportunity to sequence according to time of day. What a great way to blend math and literature!
To explore the concept of time even further, each munchkin also had the chance to make a little ladybug clock. Most of our munchkins have mastered telling time to the hour and the 1/2 hour, but many of them also understand how to figure out a time in increments of five minutes. Amazing math skills for this level!
The munchkins also enjoyed creating a couple of fun little books during this week of activities. We've discussed the idea of compound words and in these past few weeks we've encountered quite a few. We used these (like "butterfly" and "ladybug") to make a little compound word booklet.
The booklet was really cute, formed like a ladybug with movable wings. Each wing contained a word (which the munchkins illustrated) and when the wings were paired, a compound word was created. The trick, of course, was to pair two words that create a true compound word. The most fun, however, was pairing two words that created a nonsense word! The munchkins had so much fun making silly words like butterbug, grassfly, and ladyhopper!
We also made a fun little counting book that stressed patterned, predictable text and sight words. The munchkins completed it with almost no instruction, as they could read the text easily on their own, adding the appropriate illustrations based on their own reading!
They enjoyed gathering with each other to read together too!
One of our most challenging activities was an insect report. After learning about so many different critters these past few weeks, we completed a classroom Venn Diagram in order to compare and contrast. The munchkins then used some of this information to complete a report on butterflies and ladybugs.
They worked very hard recording a similarity and a difference between the two insects, constructing the sentences and spelling the words completely on their own.
As we compared ladybugs with butterflies, the munchkins came to realize that the life cycle of these two insects are the same! We used little life cycle pieces to sequence and explore the metamorphosis of the bug and reinforce the vocabulary of "larvae" and "pupae".
At one point, we had a day that needed a quick time filler too, so we grabbed the scrap tub and cut some impromptu hearts (which is quite a fine motor task in and of itself!).
And with a little gluing and a few circles...
ta-da!
It's a lovely ladybug!
Then, of course, we ended as we do all things!
Isn't she too cute?
And that's all for our not-so-grouchy-ladybug fun!
Until next time...
Giggles,
Mrs. D.
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