Observing Life Cycles and Understanding Metamorphosis
All seven Children's House classrooms are anticipating the emergence of beautiful butterflies
“We must study the correlation between life and the environment. In nature all is correlated. This is the purpose of nature. Nature is not concerned just with the conservation of individual life or with the betterment of itself. It is a harmony, a plan of construction. Everything fits into the plan: rocks, earth, water, plants, man, etc. ” - Maria Montessori, the 1946 London Lectures
Children's House classrooms explore botany and biology by first learning the simple difference between living and non-living. The children, even at the age of three, can eagerly share that "living things" need food and water (nourishment), can breathe, and will grow. It is not uncommon to walk into a Children's House classroom in the fall and find everything (including teachers and children) labeled with the words "living" and "non-living."
These simple studies then lead to the difference between "plants" and "animals." The natural world then comes alive, pardon the pun, as students begin to observe and classify different specimens from the Plant Kingdom and explore the unique characteristics of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and insects. The spring, of course, is the perfect time to concentrate on our insect friends. Including, of course, the fan favorites....butterflies.
Is there anything more impressive than watching caterpillars crawl to the roofs of their little habitats, create J formations, and then silently begin the phenomenal metamorphosis that happens inside their chrysalis ...only to emerge two weeks later as a butterflies? I think not.
Please ask your children about their caterpillars so that they can share this experience with you. And, stayed tuned as this life cycle continues.
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“We must study the correlation between life and the environment. In nature all is correlated. This is the purpose of nature. Nature is not concerned just with the conservation of individual life or with the betterment of itself. It is a harmony, a plan of construction. Everything fits into the plan: rocks, earth, water, plants, man, etc. ” - Maria Montessori, the 1946 London Lectures
Children's House classrooms explore botany and biology by first learning the simple difference between living and non-living. The children, even at the age of three, can eagerly share that "living things" need food and water (nourishment), can breathe, and will grow. It is not uncommon to walk into a Children's House classroom in the fall and find everything (including teachers and children) labeled with the words "living" and "non-living."
These simple studies then lead to the difference between "plants" and "animals." The natural world then comes alive, pardon the pun, as students begin to observe and classify different specimens from the Plant Kingdom and explore the unique characteristics of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and insects. The spring, of course, is the perfect time to concentrate on our insect friends. Including, of course, the fan favorites....butterflies.
Is there anything more impressive than watching caterpillars crawl to the roofs of their little habitats, create J formations, and then silently begin the phenomenal metamorphosis that happens inside their chrysalis ...only to emerge two weeks later as a butterflies? I think not.
Please ask your children about their caterpillars so that they can share this experience with you. And, stayed tuned as this life cycle continues.
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About Harborlight
Harborlight Montessori is a non-profit, private, independent, school for students from Preschool through Grade 8.
Middle School, Elementary, Preschool, Afterschool, Summer Programs, Vacation Week Programs
Middle School, Elementary, Preschool, Afterschool, Summer Programs, Vacation Week Programs
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