From the fall migration to their
return in the spring , the study of Monarch
Butterflies can be a thread that runs through your curriculum throughout the school year.Teach,
learn about and celebrate this remarkable species through participation in the Monarch Teachers
Network,
Symbolic Migration the Journey North program and Monarch Watch.
FALL:
Children raise and tag Monarch Butterflies for the journey south to Mexico. Children create and send paper butterflies through Journey North’s
Symbolic Migration program which corresponds to the real migration of monarch butterflies in October (Up to 100 million monarch
butterflies migrate each year!) As you say Adios to the season's last butterfly , celebrate with a Monarch
Festival and parade.
WINTER:
As
the monarchs rest in huge clusters in the mountains of Mexico, the children learn about life in and around the sanctuary region.Write to the children of Mexico who receive and care for the paper butterflies and receive letters from them in
return...
( Using Journey North in the preschool classroom)
SPRING:
Create a Monarch Waystation to attract and become a habitat for monarch butterflies through the Monarch Watch Program.
In May symbolic pape butterflies return
from Mexico!
They represent
the work of children all across the USA. Log on to the website to them to let them know that their butterflies arrived
safely...And the circle of friendship will continue!
SUMMER:
The children experience
the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly as they raise and release butterflies into the garden.
And in the fall the project begins
again............
"When one tugs at a single thing in
nature...he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
~John Muir
