“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” John Muir

Spirit days. We had another fantastic week, and we can’t believe we only have one more full week left of the school year. We had fun on Tuesday, twining with our bffs on Look Alike Day. We loved choosing a new name on Wednesday. We laughed out loud with our classmates’ jokes on Thursday and shared our lunch with cicadas on Friday (lol.) Talking about cicadas, did you know that cicadas make a variety of sounds? Each cicada species creates a distinct sound to attract females of their own kind. We listened to some of the cicada sounds to compare them. Some resemble sprinklers, others sound like an ambulance, and others like an alarm. So cool! On Mystery Science, we watched how other insects make their sounds using different parts of their bodies, like crickets, who use their wings, or grasshoppers, who use their legs. We watched a zoomed-in image of these insects’ bodies and found ridges on the part of their bodies that they use to make their sounds. In the same way, cicadas use the ridges on their sides called tymbals. They move their tymbals so fast that they make a loud sound. 

We have a chance to listen to their “songs” during recess and when we go to gym class. We like to stay quiet for a few seconds and enjoy the different sounds. Fun fact: Do you know what a group of cicadas is called? A Chorus!

Insects. This week, Ms. Anna’s class insects emerged, and we were just curious about what types of insects they were. We borrowed them for a day and tried really hard to see them up close using our magnifying glasses because of how tiny they are. We first noticed that they are insects because they have all the attributes of insects: six legs, head, thorax, and abdomen. We could see two eyes, but it was hard to tell if they were compound. They have antennae, but it is also hard to know if they have wings. Armed with that information, we looked at pictures of different insects and took our best guesses. Some students guessed they were crickets; others thought they were walking sticks. A couple of students thought they were grasshoppers, and most thought they were praying mantis. And they were! We learned a few facts about Praying mantis:

• They can be brown or green
• Their color helps them camouflage
• They can be one to six inches long
• They have five eyes, two compound, and three simple eyes (just like bees!)
• Some have wings
• They are carnivorous
• They can eat small insects
• They can also eat small animals like lizards, mice, and even hummingbirds! Yikes!
• They catch their prey as fast as a flash!
• They can live up to a year
• They can be found in every continent except Antarctica

We also learned about their life cycle. Contrary to the other insects we’ve studied, the praying mantis only has three stages: egg, nymphs, and adults. During their nymph stage, they can molt multiple times from their exoskeleton until they become adults. And just like cicadas, they leave their shells everywhere. Nature never ceases to be amazing!

Believe it or not, we keep finding different critters in our backyard. Every recess, we are excited to see what we will find. The “cicada carpet” has become a familiar sight on the playground. We are so used to finding them everywhere that we have noticed a significant shift in our students’ attitudes towards these insects. Those who were initially hesitant to touch them or even fearful are now happily collecting the dead cicadas or their exoskeletons. The highlight of our week was the diverse array of beetles and caterpillars we found. We found more green caterpillars and the most strange white-hairy one. It was so pretty that we wanted to keep it forever, but we talked about how important it is for them to keep them safe in their natural habitat. Is it possible to find more types of critters? We sure hope so. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

“Above all, show respect and love for all living things”

Spirit Days. On Friday, we started the Spirit Days countdown to summer. Letter P for Paper Airplane challenge. On Tuesday, two students from Ms. Anna’s class kindly came to teach us how to build paper airplanes; we then practiced flying them around the room for the rest of the week. We had our classroom contest; the winner would be the one who could fly the plane the farthest. Our champion, Halima, earned the opportunity to compete against winners from other classrooms in front of the entire school. We cheered Halima as she joined the other winners. Woot Woot!  We also cheered the second-year winner, Leo Tzotzolis, whose impressive design flew all the way to the wall. Go Leo!

Wax Museum. We received a special invitation from Ms. Lisa’s class, who said we were invited to see their Wax Museum. Initially, we didn’t know what to expect, so we made some predictions. Students remembered that wax is a substance that comes from bees, so they guessed the museum might feature things made from wax, like candles, figures, or crayons. When we arrived, we were surprised to see representations of characters that “came to life” when we pressed a button. We heard a mini-story about their lives and what made them famous. 

As we walked to this wax museum, we found Sally Ride (American astronaut and physicist), Hellen Keller (American author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer, most famous for being blind and deaf), Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer player), Leonardo Da Vinci (Italian artist, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect) Kobi Bryant (American basketball player,)  Thomas Alva Edison (American inventor,) Babe Ruth (American baseball pitcher), Amelia Earhart (American aviator,) Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch artist,), Albert Einstein (German Theoretical physicist), and Lionel Messi (Argentine soccer player.)

It was a fantastic learning experience, blending creativity, history, and storytelling.

Stranger Danger. We had another special visit this week, this time from the Des Plaines Police Department. The officers came to talk to us about important safety topics, such as the dangers of talking to strangers and the risks of touching dogs we don’t know. As part of their visit, they brought along their canine officer, who showed students some impressive tricks. The highlight of the visit was when the children could pet the canine officer at the end of the demonstration.

Seeds. When we listened to the book “What Will Grow” by Jennifer Ward, we read that different seeds give different types of plants. That reminded us of the acorns we planted at the beginning of the school year. The acorns are the nuts of oak trees we planted in October. They sprouted fast, and we kept watering them and giving them enough sun, especially during winter. They grew big leaves, but then they stopped growing. We figured it was time to plant outside in our community garden. We dug holes big enough for our little plants. We are now making sure they get enough water, and we are crossing our fingers so we can see our oak trees grow.

Cicadas. It’s raining cicadas, literally! We just needed to stand under a big tree for more than one minute, and we would have a cicada on our hair, shoulders, or back. We listened to a short couple of videos to learn more about them. We found some cool fun facts:

• They are harmless
• They don’t bite or sting
• There are more than 5 thousand types
• Adults leave eggs in small holes they make on branches
• Nymphs (baby cicadas) fall to the ground 
• Nymphs dig themselves to the ground
• They attach themselves to tree roots
• They eat tree sap (xylem)
• They can live underground from 2 up to 17 years
• They dig themselves out when it’s above 64 degrees
• They climb the trunk of a tree and shed their skin
• The skin they shed is called an exoskeleton 
• Male cicadas sing to attract the ladies (lol)
• They are the loudest insects in the world!

We learned that different cicada species make particular sounds to attract females from the same species. We also heard a particular sound ourselves whenever we handled a cicada the wrong way. They made a distress sound meant to scare their predators. (Ask your child what part of their bodies they use to make sounds.) 

We’ve been so excited to see cicadas every day that we have a collection in our classroom. In our collection, we found two species of cicadas; one was significantly smaller and had different-colored eyes. This hands-on experience provides a fantastic learning opportunity for our students. They are not only learning about the fascinating life cycle and characteristics of cicadas but also embracing a crucial lesson: the importance of respecting all living things.

Insects. Now that spring is in full bloom, we find all types of critters: bees, centipedes, wasps, rolly pollies, beetles, ants, earwigs, aphids, flying ants, spiders, worms, and even caterpillars.  We examined them closely to see if they were insects, arachnids, or bugs. We are also learning more about them, so we are not afraid of them. One student found a green caterpillar and asked if we could bring it to the classroom. We did but considered the type of habitat the caterpillar needed. We got some green leaves and gave our caterpillar tiny pieces of fruit. After unanimously agreeing on a name, we observed Leafy very active in its habitat. It did not seem happy there, so we thought it needed water. Suddenly, Leafy stopped moving. In a last attempt, we put Leafy on one of our plants before returning Leafy to its natural habitat. Within minutes, Leafy dug a hole in the plant’s soil and disappeared. We were surprised (teachers included) because we thought caterpillars would stay on the surface until they were ready to metamorph. We are hopeful that we’ll see Leafy again in the following days, and if we are lucky, we will see it transform into a chrysalis and, eventually, a butterfly. 

Another student found a different caterpillar. This one was the most mesmerizing because it did a cool trick: it camouflaged! When students picked it up with a stick, the caterpillar blended in the colors of the stick. It did such a great job camouflaging that other students could not spot it on the stick. We learned that critters and other animals do this trick as a defense mechanism to hide from their predators. We tried to put the caterpillar in other places, like leaves, to see if it changed into a leaf color, but it moved so fast and away from the leaves that we couldn’t spot any changes. We returned it to its home since it did not like the plant like Leafy. We wonder what other critters we will find next week. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

“Wherever there are animals in the world, there is always an opportunity for caring, compassion and kindness.”

This past week was a whirlwind!  We celebrated our moms and grandmas with a fun dance party. Students were involved in the preparation from the get-go: dictating, writing, and decorating the invitations, choosing the songs, preparing gifts and decorations, and choosing the snack menu. They also auditioned for the story; each performed a different book character for one week, and then the best ones kept a specific role. We hope you had as much fun as we did preparing for it.  We are so glad our moms and grandmas could share Friday’s last hour of school with us! Thank you for coming!

Insects. The last of our Ladybugs made their great arrival and students counted them (or tried, lol.) Even teachers struggled counting the little silly friends. It was a challenging task because they kept moving around. Some students counted three, others seven, and some  up to ninety-six! In reality, ten ladybugs emerged in total. We learned that they are carnivores, they eat small insects and spiders, they love aphids, mites and other plant-eating insects and their eggs. If other sources of food are scarce, they would eat other ladybug eggs, larvae, and pupae.

During our recess, we hunted for aphids, and we found them. We caught as many as we could to feed our ladybugs. We learned some fun facts too:

• Ladybugs are also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles.
• They are beetles, not bugs
• There are over 5 thousand types of ladybugs
• Ladybugs are colorful, so they can warn predators not to eat them
• Winter doesn’t bother them – they hibernate and live through it!
• Not all ladybugs look the same; their patterns are different
• They are also pollinators! They eat nectar and pollen from shallow flowers since they don’t have a proboscis. 

On Friday, we went to the zip-line park to set our ladybugs free. Some students were sad and did not want to let them go. We explained that our ladybugs eat a lot, and we couldn’t give them all the food they needed, so we had to let them be free to hunt for their food. And so we did. Our little ones are now happily feasting on the gardens of the playground.

Baby Chicks. Ms. Ela’s class let us borrow their baby chicks for a day. We learned how to hold them properly, making sure not to hurt them. We also learned that they eat worms and small insects, so we went into hunting mode again. We found worms and cicadas and gave them to the hungry little ones. We watched them eat, fight for their food, and drink water. Our students observed the chicks closely as they interacted with each other. The chicks would cuddle together to sleep and then wake up hungry, ready to eat again. Just like human babies! It was an exciting and educational opportunity that our students thoroughly enjoyed.

Art. Every year, we get to participate in the Greektown Education sculpture project. This year, the sculpture is of an owl. Ms. Ianna, a former Plato student, is the lead artist who guided our students. She explained to us that the owl is the symbol of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. This connection to Greek mythology added depth and meaning to the project, enriching our students’ cultural understanding. Each student chose the color and painted a portion of the owl. We were the first class, so we painted the base colors of the owl. This hands-on activity fostered creativity and emphasized the importance of teamwork and collaboration. The finished owl sculpture will be displayed in Greektown in the coming days and will remain throughout the summer. This public exhibition allows our students to take pride in their work and see their efforts appreciated by the community. Make sure you visit with your family.

A calendar for the last month’s activities will be sent soon. Be on the lookout. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

All little creatures are beautiful…

Insects. We are thrilled to share an update from our classroom this week: our mystery insects have finally revealed their identity! On Tuesday morning, students noticed a fascinating change: our mystery insects had entered the pupa stage. They described them in their journals as “little black and brown balls.” They also noticed that these pupae remained still and seemed to be resting,  “I think they’re sleeping!” Our insects must have gone into the pupa stage last week while we were gone because, by Friday morning, we had our first critter emerging. Students quickly recognized the emerging insect  as it looked too familiar, “it’s moving!” “It looks like a ladybug!” It is a ladybug!” The speed of this transformation surprised everyone, teachers included, as the pupa stage typically lasts one to two weeks, but since we were not in school for four days, we did not feel it. Watching these insects undergo metamorphosis has been an extraordinary learning experience for our students. They witnessed firsthand the magical transformation of creatures within their life cycle. By the end of the day on Friday, we had two ladybugs; the rest will come out during the weekend, and we can’t wait to hold them in our hands.

Chicks. We shared the joy with Ms. Ela’s class as their baby chicks hatched this week. We couldn’t believe our eyes when the first, the next, and then another came out. There were three fluffy baby chicks by the end of the day and seven total the next day. We are so happy to have witnessed another life cycle. The arrival of the baby chicks is a testament to the wonders of nature and a reflection of the nurturing environment we strive to create at our school.

Service projects. Ms. Demetra and Mr. Patrick’s classes visited us to present their service projects. Ms. Demetra’s class is collecting items to help moms with babies in need until May 17th. Mr. Patrick’s class is having a bake sale next Tuesday, May 14th, to help PAWS, a no-kill animal shelter. More information on Parent Notes.

Our secret project. We’ve been super busy preparing a surprise for Monday. We still cannot reveal more details, but we can say that students are very excited. Stay tuned.

Efi and Soraya

“Bees are nature’s magicians.”

Insects. This week, we looked at pictures of different critters and, depending on their anatomy, determined if the critters were, in fact, insects or not. Some critters seemed pretty weird, and others were very peculiar and had unique features, like the acorn weevil (a type of beetle with a snout) or the walking stick that looks precisely like that, a stick that walks. (If you have never seen any of these insects, we highly encourage you to look them up, we think they are the cutest!) Through observation and discussion, we concluded that Ants, the Acorn weevil, the Earwig, the Walking stick, the Praying mantis, the Silverfish, and the Cockroach are, in fact, insects, while the Centipede and Millipede are not. Our curiosity went beyond the classroom as we found critters in the playground, the sidewalk, and the hallways! This activity was not just about identifying critters; it was about developing critical thinking skills, understanding scientific classification, and appreciating the vast diversity of life forms on our planet. By engaging in hands-on exploration, our little ones learn to observe closely, analyze features, and draw informed conclusions.

Our mystery insects are thriving in their larval stage, growing larger and revealing their distinct features, particularly the spots on their backs. This detailed observation has allowed our students to gain a deeper understanding of the unique characteristics of these insects as they progress through their life cycle. While comparing the insects to the larva stage of the butterfly, students concluded that they are definitely not butterflies as the butterfly larva (caterpillar) looks very different. We look forward to sharing more updates as our mystery insects progress through their life cycle.

Service project. Our Bee Keepers sale was a huge success! Our effort paid off, and we reached our goal of one thousand dollars! We had our “Bee Kind” T-shirt raffle, and the lucky winner was Elektra from Ms. Anna’s class. Woohoo! We couldn’t be prouder of our little philanthropists; they were involved every step of the way. Some proudly welcomed our shoppers, offered raffle tickets, and gave them a note to remind them to plant flowers for bees. Thank you all for supporting this great cause.  

Bees. After reviewing the anatomy of Bees, each student made a bee using popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners. It was tricky for some because it required a lot of twisting and bending. Students added a head, thorax, abdomen, six legs, five eyes, wings, stinger, and antennas to their bees. Once our bees were ready, we played a freeze-pollination game. We made big flowers full of pollen (chalk dust) that our bees visited while music played. When the music stopped, students were supposed to freeze and continue when the music started again. At the tune of the fun classical song, The Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov, students “flew” their bees around our pretend garden, making a buzzing sound and drinking nectar from each flower. Students noticed how the pollen stuck to the fibers of the pipe cleaners, just like natural pollen sticks on bees. At the end of the game, we checked our flowers and saw how the “pollen” had mixed up from one flower to another. We had so much fun pretending to be bees!

On Thursday, we went back to Centennial Park, our first trip there this Spring. We were surprised to find the park full of beautiful dandelions when we got there. As we returned to school, students noticed a stark contrast in the neighborhood lawns, which were mostly bare except for the occasional lonely dandelion. This observation led to a deeper conversation about why dandelions were abundant in the park but sparse in nearby lawns. Students deduced that chemical treatments on lawns might be responsible for the lack of these flowers, which are often dismissed as mere weeds. “We gotta tell them to stop spraying chemicals!” So now we are thinking of ways to tell our neighbors about the importance of dandelions in our garden. Together, we can foster a community that values and protects its natural resources.

Ms. Ela’s babies. We visited Ms. Ela’s class to check out their egg incubator. The experience left our students in awe as they observed the miracle of life inside the eggs, with baby chicks starting to move within their shells. How cool is that? Our students observed the egg incubator in action, which gently rotates the eggs every hour. This rotation is crucial for the development of the chicks inside the eggs. Ms. Ela explained that chickens naturally rotate their eggs three times a day to ensure even heat distribution, prevent the embryos from sticking to the eggshell, and promote healthy growth. We can’t wait to see the baby chicks! 

Secret project. As you already know, we are preparing a special day for our moms.  While we can’t reveal all the details yet, we assure you that you will love it. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

 

“Anyone who thinks they’re too small to make a difference, has never met the honeybee”

Service Project. We launched our Service Project of the Year on Monday: Give Bees a Chance. We chose a good spot to hang our poster boards, and four volunteers decorated a donation jar to leave in the foyer. We then presented our plan to the whole school. Each student learned a line or two explaining the reason for our project to the classes on the lower level, while Ms. Anna’s class did it for the second-level classes. (Thank you for practicing with your child last weekend.) We explained how we plan to raise money to donate to Environment America: https://environmentamerica.org/feature/ame/save-bees.

 Together, we will set up a beekeeper shop next Tuesday, April 30th, where all the classes can shop for bee-themed items. Prices will range from $2 to $20. As a class, we’ve been busy bees setting up bracelet kits, bagging bee crayons, and writing labels and prices.We labeled and wrote prices for each item and decorated the shop room. Ms. Anna’s class handled the honey jars, chapsticks and gift baskets.

Each student has been fully invested in each activity, and we got many high fives from other teachers and students. Our families can help too: (ask your child how you can help as a family) 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cBA8LWGrT42OEQEu9GyFb4IWlwzGNS5XOS5N_Ii0fWM/edit?usp=sharing 

• Planting flowers in your garden
• Stay away from garden chemicals 
• Donate money (due day April 30th)

Last year, we raised $975! Our goal for this year is $1000. We can’t wait to see how much money we can raise for this important project. 

Bees. As part of our Service project, we keep learning about bees and all they do. We talked about their life cycle (ask your child what cycle means) and learned how worker bees care for their babies (larvae). The life cycle of honeybees consists of four stages: eggs, larva, pupa, and adult. This entire process varies lengthwise amongst the different honey bees. It takes about 16 days for the queen, 18 to 22 days for the worker bees, and 24 days for the drones. We watched a short video that showed us how the whole cycle looks in real life! https://youtu.be/xD5tdykIJBI We could see the entire transformation, and it was mesmerizing.

Pollination. This week, we discussed pollination, which is transferring pollen from flower to flower. Insects and animals who help with pollination are called pollinators. Ask your child what other animals are pollinators besides bees (butterflies, bats, hummingbirds, small mice, etc.) While we heard about the pollination process, we learned why Bees are a crucial part of pollination (ask your child why bees are essential during the pollination process and what could happen if bees go extinct.) 

Science. As part of this scientific experiment, we used coffee filters and markers to create unique flowers and learn about chromatography. We watched the amazing process of chromatography in action by coloring the filters with markers and dipping the tip in water. Students could see the water “walking up” the filter as soon as the filter’s tip made contact with the water, separating the colors and creating beautiful patterns.

The science behind it: Chromatography, derived from the Greek words chroma meaning “color” and graph meaning “to write,” is the scientific method of separating mixtures. In our experiment, the water’s capillary action pulled the ink molecules up the filter, separating the different color compounds. The lighter molecules moved faster than the heavier ones, resulting in the distinct spread of colors along the filter.

Marker inks are made from many different colored dyes. We could see it more in dark colors; students who initially colored with dark colors like black and purple were surprised to see new colors, such as green and red, appearing on the edge of their filters. “I didn’t use green on mine!” “I see red!” When our flowers were ready, we could count many different colors on our final products. We will use our flowers for a pollination game next week.

Insects. We have mystery insects in our classroom! We got our detective eyes alert and started investigating these mysterious creatures. At first, we didn’t know if it was an insect, but we counted six legs, so we can assume it is. There are more than two, but they are so small and move so fast that it is still hard to count them. We learned that they are in the second stage of the cycle, in the larva stage. They have six legs; they are black with a few orange dots on their abdomen. It is hard to see the eyes.

We will provide more information as soon as we learn more about them, but that is all we have so far. We’ll keep monitoring their growth and hope to catch the next phase of their metamorphosis while we are in school. How exciting. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

Insects. Talking about our favorite insects, we made a list of our favorite insects; ladybugs, butterflies, and bees are the top three in our list. On Tuesday, we grabbed our clipboards and went to each class to ask the students and teachers in our school if they were afraid of insects. We counted the heads and recorded the answers with tally marks. Once we were back in our classroom, we counted our tallies and marked them ten by ten. Then, we colored a graph to record our data. A graph helps us collect and organize data in a way that makes sense to them. (Students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity by learning to collect, analyze, and use data.) 

Finally, we got our answer: seventy-four students and teachers are not afraid of insects, and thirty-five are. Those were surprising results, as most of us had predicted that most would answer yes. 

Bees. We read the book “Give Bees a Chance” by Bethany Barton, and we learned that bees are very important, so we went on a search to learn more interesting facts about bees: 

• Bees are insects
• They have five eyes, four wings, antennae, and six legs.
• There are about 25 thousand different kinds of bees in the world! 
• Male bees don’t have a stinger.  
• There are three types of bees: Queen, Drones, and Workers, and each has a particular job(ask your child what their job is).
• Bees make honey
• They don’t want to attack us; they only sting when threatened.
• Bees are social, and they live in large groups called colonies.
• Honey bees harvest nectar and pollen from flowering plants.
• Bees are in charge of Pollination.

But what is Pollination? We watched a short video that explained the process:  https://youtu.be/UkjOeD47sTs?si=lGXYxfMAiRCHWMP3. While we heard about the Pollination process, we learned why Bees are a crucial part of it (ask your child why bees are essential during the pollination process and what could happen if bees went extinct).

We have so much to learn about bees and have so many questions! 

We learned that Honey bee colonies are disappearing in large numbers and are, in fact, in danger of extinction. But why? There are many reasons why bees are dying. Some reasons are unknown yet; others are climate change, cell phone chemicals we spray on flowers, pollution, habitat loss, and parasites. 

Let’s help the bees! How can we help them? We joined Ms. Anna’s class and made a list of ideas: “Plant more flowers, take care of flowers, don’t kill bees, don’t destroy their beehives, make bee hotels.” We made poster board signs to set up around the school so other students know that bees need our help. We are little, but together, we are strong. We can help bees! 

We are learning our lines and practicing them for our presentation next week. We will go to the other classes on Monday to spread our message to the other students. Stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya

Pledge. Our daily pledge activity has been a source of joy and unity in our classroom. It’s been satisfying to see some students confidently recite it on the microphone. Some students have been able to say it twice by now, and we still have one more week. If you like your child to participate, make sure they arrive at school on time. 

Solar eclipse. We learned about solar eclipses and why they are such an important event in the sky. Our little learners were captivated by the wonder of this natural phenomenon and eagerly soaked up all the information shared with them. During our discussions, we explained to students that a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, casting a shadow on our planet and temporarily blocking the sun’s light. What a magical event! 

We encouraged the children to observe the solar eclipse safely, either through special glasses or by creating pinhole projectors. We emphasized the importance of protecting our eyes while witnessing this rare event and marveled at the wonders of the universe. We watched a short video from Mystery Science to inspire them to look up at the sky with a newfound sense of awe and appreciation. 

Pollock. We finished our collaborative painting, wrapping up our artist study of Jackson Pollock. We all had a blast during this exploration and are excited to dive into our next adventure.

Insects. We asked students to tell us everything they know about insects, and we made a list on the board. Things we know about insects:

Some are big, and some are small

Some hibernate

They eat people

They hide from the cold 

They hide in holes 

Some hide people’s houses and cars

Some jump

They go inside flowers

They go where it’s warm

Insects we have seen:

Ants

Butterflies

Bees

Ladybugs

Cicadas

“Spiders”

“Rolly Pollies”

“Worms”

Then we learned a few main characteristics of insects and compared them with the list that we’d made:

• They are small (compared to other animals)
• They are the largest groups of animals in the world
• They live everywhere in the world
• They don’t have any bones
• They have an outer shell called the exoskeleton
• They have six legs
• Most have wings and antennae
• They have compound eyes
• They like warm places
• They move quickly
• They have simple brains (they can’t think)
• To survive the cold, they hibernate (diapause)
• They hatch from eggs
• Some go through a change (metamorphosis)
• Some are harmful to humans
• All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs

After learning their main physical features, we classified a big basket of animals into two categories: insects and non-insects. It took a lot of thinking and reasoning, and we came to the surprising conclusion that some of the animals we thought were insects were not, like spiders, rolly pollies, and worms. 

Then we wondered if people appreciate insects like most of us. We counted how many disliked insects; surprisingly, half of our class did. Most of the other half likes some and dislikes others. Only a few students love them all. When asked why our classmates don’t like insects, the most popular answer was because they are scared of them. We went home with the assignment to ask members of our families if they are afraid of insects. We also want to find out how many students and teachers in our school are scared of insects. We are excited to see what we find. Stay tuned.

Efi and Soraya

“For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way: Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.”

Traditions. Kiria Efi told us about a Greek tradition called Clean Monday (Kathara Deftera.) This day marks the end of the Greek carnival season, ‘Apokries,’ and the start of Lent. It is a period of spiritual purification in preparation for the solemnity of Orthodox Easter. One specific tradition during this period is the consumption of “lagana” bread on Clean Monday, which marks the end of Sarakosti, which translates to ’40 days’ and ends at the beginning of Easter. Lagana is a flatbread commonly served with olives, vegetables, and other vegetarian accompaniments. Also, on this day, kids go out and fly kites. Kite flying symbolizes the beginning of the Lenten period and the lifting of one’s spirits to heaven. The kites are typically homemade, made of brightly colored paper or cloth, and shaped like birds, animals, or mythical creatures. We gave paper bags and paper for students to decorate their kites, and we went out to fly them. Students were excited because most had never flown a kite before. It was a perfect windy day, and we loved it. 

Scavenger Hunt. On Monday, we were so excited to see if our trap had succeeded, but it didn’t. We only found a big mess that the Leprechaun left for us to clean. We could see his pathway of shenanigans that led to a message on the board that said, “Better luck next year!” While students cleaned all the mess, they found a letter. It was from Seamus, the Leprechaun. He told us how much he’d enjoyed the dandelion tea we left for him, and he left us a little treasure. But because he is a trickster, we had to solve the riddles first to find the treasure. Each card we found led us to another clue, but we had to solve the riddle, which would uncover another clue: 

“A Leprechaun can be as quick as a flash; go and look now where you put all the _____.” 

Students had to use their rhyming skills to find the next clue. Soon enough, we solved all the clues that led us to a hidden treasure, Yay! We were lucky, after all. We will try again next year! 

The Leprechaun left us a lot of golden coins. We counted them and tried to figure out how to divide them fairly. One student said it would be two gold coins for each, so we gave two to everyone, but then three students were left with no coins. Another student suggested one for each, so we gave everyone one, but many gold coins were left. Another student had the brilliant idea to give one coin to each teacher (yay) and give the rest to the best cleaners as a prize. We all agreed with that plan and cleaned up the room fast after that (lol.)  

 

Skits. On Tuesday, we presented the skit we’ve been practicing for the last weeks during theater class to Mr. Patrick and Ms. Beth’s classes and Ms. Bia and Mr. Ericks’s classes. We also enjoyed two skit presentations from two different classes. We were a little nervous, but we did as we practiced and got a big ovation from the older students. Yay! (Ask your child about the skit—hint: The three little pigs.)

Seuss. We celebrated the birthday of an all-time favorite author, Dr. Seuss. We chose one of his most famous works, Green Eggs and Ham, for this special occasion. But we didn’t just read the book; we sang it in a rap style! (lol). We noticed how the author uses a lot of rhyming, and we tried predicting the next line while following the rap beat. How fun!

Have you ever had green eggs? How do you make green eggs? In our last science experiment, we made green eggs without food coloring. We first got a purple cabbage leaf and asked students what would happen if we boiled it with water. We had a variety of answers:

• “It’s gonna turn white.”
• “It’s gonna turn pink.”
• “It’s gonna disappear”.
• “The water is gonna turn purple.”
• “The water is gonna turn pink.”

To everyone’s surprise, the water turned blue. The magic unfolded when we discussed what might occur if we mixed this blue cabbage water with eggs. Predictions ranged again, but a moment of brilliance came when a student connected the dots from our past color investigations: the yellow of the eggs mixed with the blue water should make green eggs. Upon mixing, the transformation was clear: we had made green eggs! We couldn’t taste it due to allergy considerations, but we smelled it and touched it. “It smells just like eggs!” they said. Try it at home; we promise it won’t taste like cabbage!

Pledge. March 11th was the first day for our class to say the morning pledge. Courageous students stepped forward and seized the opportunity to take the microphone and guide us through our daily pledge. It has been such a great opportunity to get out of our element and hear our voices on the speaker. Students who have yet to have a turn can still do it the week after the break.

Happy Spring break! Efi and Soraya

 “May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.” Irish blessing

We had a super busy week. In gym class, we played limbo; it was so much fun trying to go under the stick without using our hands. We also danced like the Irish, danced the cha cha, and learned the “Wakka Wakka.” We rode the bus twice! Woohoo! We went on stage for our main rehearsal on Wednesday and enjoyed “The Pigeon Rides the Bus” on Thursday. We love going on stage, but we love being an audience too. We have received so much praise from other grownups on how respectful and attentive we are as an audience. We are so proud of ourselves!

We also practiced our Greek songs and dances a lot this week. We can’t wait to see our efforts pay off.

Leprechauns. St. Patrick’s Day is until Sunday, but we are fully prepared to welcome the Leprechauns. After reading “How to Trap a Leprechaun” by Adam Wallace, we were inspired to build a trap for the 200-year-old mischievous little man. We made a plan and wrote on the board a list of everything we knew about Leprechauns. We were surprised about how many details students remembered:

They give you three wishes

They’re shoemakers

They hide their treasure at the end of the rainbow

They’re two feet tall.

They are magical

They love dandelion tea and clovers

They play tricks

They wear green and big hats

They have beards but no mustaches

They’re from Ireland

They live in the forest

Their home is on trees

Their hair is the color of Caleb’s hair

Then we made a plan to lure him into a trap but realized dandelions are hard to find before spring. We still went for a dandelion and clover hunt outside. Since the weather has been great lately, we were lucky to find a few dandelion flowers and leaves, but we couldn’t find any clovers; we were hopeful because we heard that Ms. Lisa’s class had found some. 

We put our brains to work once we were back in the classroom. Leaders took charge immediately, offering ideas on how to start their trap. After choosing the material, we started building the trap and net. Students tried to make sure that the trap didn’t have any holes where the Leprechauns could escape. Our trap fell a few times, and students had to rebuild it again. They noticed that if the blocks were unstable, there was a big chance the rest would collapse. All students were actively involved in the trap building, and they all pitched in with their ideas. 

Fizzy rocks. On Wednesday, our little explorers stumbled upon some intriguing green rocks. They were very hard and cold to the touch, sparking the curiosity of our students. Eager to unravel the mystery, we equipped our students with pipettes and vinegar to conduct a simple experiment. Something magical began to happen as they added the small drops of vinegar onto the rocks. When the vinegar reacted with the baking soda of the mystery rocks, bubbles appeared. It’s a chemical reaction! Our budding scientists quickly recognized that the combination of vinegar (an acid) and baking soda (an alkali) produced a gas called carbon dioxide, which manifested as the bubbles they observed. Then, an unexpected twist occurred! A student made an astonishing discovery: a golden coin hidden inside one of the rocks! Moments like these truly highlight the wonder and excitement of learning.

Rainbows. During one of our family meetings, we talked about rainbows, so we thought of looking for rainbows in our classroom. We only found two and felt we might attract Leprechauns if we had more. But how do we make a rainbow? We discussed how these primary colors are like the building blocks of all other colors. Like mixing ingredients in a recipe, these primary colors can be combined in various ways to create a spectrum of beautiful shades. We confirmed that rainbows have the primary colors: blue, red, and yellow. But then came an intriguing question: where do the rest of the colors in the rainbow come from?

We remembered the combination of colors that make green, then the ones that make purple, and finally the ones that make orange. As good scientists, we had to test it to make sure we were correct. We used six clear containers, water, and food coloring for the primary colors. We poured water into three containers and added one color to each. We asked them what would happen to a sheet of paper towel if we put it in water: “It’s gonna get wet.” And what if the water was colored water? “The paper towel is gonna have the color too.” We had to test it, and sure enough, the paper towel got wet, and we could see the water “walking” up the paper towel. We then tried the same with the other colors. We then added more paper towel sheets to the containers and connected them to the empty containers. Some students predicted correctly that the colors would mix if they “found” each other, and they did! By the end of the day, we could see the blue and yellow connecting, making a beautiful green, and the next day, we could see the orange and the purple, too. We now have an extra rainbow in our classroom to attract more Leprechauns. 

We can’t wait to see if a Leprechaun falls into our trap. Cross your fingers and stay tuned!

Efi and Soraya