Maury is in full Monarch Madness Mode! With new monarchs emerging daily, the excitement in the building in palpable. Some monarchs are in the front tent, some are in their classroom "homes" and a few sneaky ones have made their escape and found windowsills and ledges! Can you find where Ms. Bomba's chrysalis is hanging?
Hint: Do you see a little dot hanging between the clothespins?
We also still have many who have yet to emerge as students ( and teachers!) anxiously watch their class Chrysalises.
It has been quite the journey for Maury Monarchs. Take a look....
The Story of our Maury Monarchs
It was almost exactly one month ago that our monarch larvae arrived. They were so small! ( For a video of students marveling at their size, see this post!)
Where are they? Three of them are there!
Do you see the trail left behind by our very hungry caterpillar on the swamp milkweed?
Soon they were much bigger!
Ms. Sweeney's class pets.
They ate and ate and ate.... and ate! Soon they formed beautiful chrysalises. Can you believe that a few classes actually got to watch that happen?
One week old chrysalis. Can you see the wing inside?
Students, staff and families anxiously watched their pupas, waiting to see their monarchs emerge. We thought most would emerge over the long Columbus Day weekend, but luckily, few did! When we arrived back on Tuesday, October 9th, most were a dark, black, signifying that our monarchs would soon be "born".
Students and teachers alike were mesmerized by the final stage of the monarch in its chrysalis. In the hours before it emerges, you can see the entire wing through the transparent chrysalis. Beautiful!
In a moment that many classes have witnessed, the monarch butterfly emerged, leaving its chrysalis behind...
And spreading its wings for the very first time.
While some classes are still waiting for this magical moment, many others are are getting ready to say goodbye and send their beloved monarchs on their long migration to Mexico.
Student in Mr. Scott's class observing the newly hatched larvae.
Early Tuesday morning the 11th, an overnight shipping box arrived in the front office with 62 just hatched Monarch larvae. Some of these babies were sooooo small that we were not sure we could even get them onto milkweed without squishing them!
Day 3 of life!
Since that morning, each class reared at least 3 larvae and will spend the next weeks watching them eat, poop (called frass), grow and change. Classes will ensure that our very hungry caterpillars will have all the milkweed they could dream of from our very own butterfly garden.
Ms. Covington planting our butterfly garden with students during last school year.
Each class will approach their study differently- some singing songs, others getting down and dirty with investigations and parasite testing, however all students will experience the amazing phenomena that is metamorphosis. Ms. Bomba and Mr. Rogers are also in teaching science lessons on these special insects since they went to a special training this summer!
Mr. Rogers and Ms. Bomba
Student in Ms. Levin's class explains what she observes.
Ms. Timmons' class singing the Monarch Life Cycle Song
Students closely investigating the holes left behind by their hungry larve.
Student in Ms. Timmon's class makes his rendition of a leaf and chrysalis.
"Can you see them in there?"
Stay tuned to the large bulletin board over the next two weeks as photos of our pets are documented through the process (including pics from the upper grades!). Please feel free to grab a magnifying glass and look at the two growing outside my office and leave a post-it note with questions.
PreK students already out making observations in our schoolyard (ignore timestamp)!
This is the question I've heard many times since the first day of school from excited students and families. It comes in many forms. The __________ has been filled with, but not limited to:
* raising Monarchs again?
* going on boat trips?
* building towers and ramps?
* having Think Tank nights?
* raising and releasing Shad?
* having Lego Club?
* able to come to you and explore?
The answer to all off these questions has been a resounding:
"YES!!! (Followed quickly by) "It's the second week of school, I'm working on it and we are doing even MORE fun things this year!"
I love working where students, staff and families are so devoted to inquiry-based learning! It's the best.
Seriously though, I can barely contain my excitement for how Think Tank and Science programs here at Maury will EXPLODE this year! Before you look below at some of our new programs, please note that parent and community support is crucial to the success of my program. Please look through at what interests YOU and email me at vanessa.ford@dc.gov to get on my " Think Tank and Science Support Team"! ( Perhaps I'll make "Double T, Double S, T stickers!)
So what IS coming to Maury this year?? Take a look...( Many headings are "clickable".)
THE THINK TANK LENDING LIBRARY OPENS SOON!
What do you get when you combine two parts Capitol Hill Community Foundation grants, 6 parts parents willing to pick up and put together IKEA furniture and one part amazing Maury mom/Hill store owner of Labyrinth Puzzles and Games? You get the new THINK TANK LENDING LIBRARY! Packed with games to help you and your child engage in problem solving and strengthen your habits of mind, you will be able to check out games for periods of time to play at home. I'm looking for some parent volunteers the week of September 10th to start putting the pieces of this library together ( library cards, game description inserts etc) so please email me at vanessa.ford@dc.gov if you can help! A WORLD IN MOTION
Thanks to a grant from the GM Foundation, Maury will be provided with an engineering curriculum called "A World in Motion". I will be working with various grade level teachers to implement this amazing curriculum. The video below outlines some of the challenges our intermediate grades will complete, while this link shows what our K-2 students will work with. Take a look!
This Lego-based challenge program is for students ages 6-9. It will start in the next few months and occur during student's recess time once a week. More information will be forthcoming!
This particular competition will take place with a group or groups of students along with parent volunteers! All projects are due in January so this will start happening in the next few weeks!
Next week, approximately 60 instar stage 1(aka baby) Monarch caterpillars will arrive at Maury. Each class will have a few to observe, learn about and raise through their entire two week "journey" to become Monarch butterflies. You will see a tent in the front lobby housing our butterflies as they emerge, and we will have multiple send-offs. This year we are tagging them too! We have a wonderful staff of Monarch experts who have participated in intensive training about these amazing natural wonders. Ms. Mitchell, Mr. Scott, Ms.Kelly, Ms. Bomba and Mr. Rogers are our resident experts! Stay tuned and PLEASE volunteer to help out HEALTHY SCHOOLS SCHOOLS WEEK: OCT. 15th-20th!
Are "farm to table" issues of interest to you or your child? Contact me to help develop events for the week!
Welcome back! If you are new to Maury... WELCOME "home"! We have some wonderful programs here. (I'd like to believe that Think Tank offers some of the coolest although I know our teachers do amazing things each day!)
As the school year progresses, this blog will be the place where you can find pictures of our activities, extension activities for at home learning and information about amazing Think Tank and Science initiatives.
Before my next post, please enjoy browsing through last year's entries!
* Take some time to look at the "Think Tank at Home" section!----->----------->---------->
You will soon see that Think Tank is driven by two theories: Habits of Mind and Multiple Intelligences-- two theories that drive my program. This year I will be explicitly teaching the Habits to students and have actually been working directly with the original authors of the theory! Who knew that sending an email to people that famous would get little ole me a conference call and connections! YAY!
For more detailed info about our First Annual Science and Think Tank Expo, check out the next post. In the meantime, I'll use this space to update with new pictures as they arrive in my inbox:)
Today's addition? Keva towers! Check out these works of... Art? Science? Mathematics?
Students release a newly banded bird as part of the Smithsonian's Urban Nest Watch Program. Look closely! The bird is in the middle of the picture! Stations like these made our event AMAZING!
Thank you to the many, many families who came out to Maury's First Annual Science and Think Tank Expolast night. As an educator, it was truly amazing to see so many families learning, exploring and having so much fun together. Last night is yet another reminder of why I do what I do. Thank you for your ongoing support of Think Tank and Science at Maury.
DC Beekeeper Toni Burnham shares a portion of her hive with students.
In addition, we had a variety of other volunteers who brought their passion for science and career knowledge to our students. Toni Burnham from DC Beekeepers, future Maury parent Subrat Biswal with his laser-sound- optics activity and Navy Satellite Electrical Engineer Erik Donald added incredible depth to our event.
"Let's go there, Dad!"
Please consider sending our volunteers and related organization an email if you found their portion particularly exciting!
One final and humble THANK YOU to my many, many parent, grandparent and family volunteers. From running the welcome table, to leading inquiry-based ( and often frustrating Keva and Geoblock block) stations, you kept the night running ( as I was literally running from station to station). Maury families ROCK!
Ali Koide from Living Classrooms shares her expertise.
As you surf through the many pictures below ( thanks to Maury supporter and super-Aunt Elizabeth Nelson) I hope you lose yourself in them and in the joy our children are experiencing WHILE LEARNING!
If you were unable to join us, please virtually travel through our stations here! As I receive more pictures from families, they will be added!
SMART-TAGS! What are YOUR Smarts? Parent volunteers led this station where visitors could determine their multiple intelligences. While all students made Smart-Tags at the beginning of the year, this was the chance for them to help their parents discover the many ways they are SMART!
Kindergartners make their Smart-Tags with Maury dad, Dinkar Mokadam.
Kindergartner Mia proudly wears her Smart-Tag from exhibit to exhibit.
"What are YOUR Smarts?"
FINGERPRINT AND ANIMAL TRACK EXPLORATION
Ms. Conley helps parents and students determine what characteristics their thumbprints have.
Mom and daughter compare thumbprints.
A mom and child classify animal tracks based on their characteristics.
LEGO "SPINNING TOP" CHALLENGE
As part of our Lego Simple Machine unit, students already explored some physical science concepts in the classroom. However, this challenge was new to them. It was fascinating to see so many students explaining to the adults how to complete the challenge. Well done scholars!
Beginning the challenge.
Celebrating success!
Adding to the challenge by creating their own design.
Even Spiderman ( PreK version) gets in on the action!
LABYRINTH PUZZLES AND GAMES STATION How lucky are we to have this store in our neighborhood... and now part of the Maury family!
Exploring balance with Keva Blocks.
ChickyBoom- a great game of balance and weights.
A game accessible to all ages!
Building ramps and exploring the solar system through a game.
RaceSpace Solar System game.
Working with owner Kathleen Donahue to play the solar system game.
BUILDING AND BALANCE STATIONS Each of these stations provided students with opportunity to explore physical science concepts related to balance and motion. In addition, students had the chance to use their "picture smarts" to model 3-D images in fun inquiry-based learning games Architecto and Equilibrio.
Ms. Hunt leads a challenge with the Impossible Spiral.
Architecto and Equlibrio as well as ramp building challenge students spatial skills.
Working as a family to build a contraption and ramp with a tunnel.
Spiderman is everywhere!
Pennies! Craft Sticks! Paper Towel Roll! Can we make a seesaw that balances?
ORNITHOLOGY STUDIES OUT FRONT
Smithsonian Urban Nest Watch set up nets on our grounds to catch birds, identify, band and set them free. DC Department of Environment Ornithologist Dan Rauch worked with students to explore the world of birds in DC. It was hot outside, but that didn't stop students from heading outside to participate in these super cool stations!
Dan Rauch from DDoE discusses the use of binoculars with PreK student.
Urban Nest Watch educator takes questions from fascinated students.
Urban Nest Watch educator listens intently to student questions.
Look closely. They caught a bird and are banding it for release!
What's your wingspan??
ANACOSTIA WATERSHED SOCIETY, DC BEEKEEPERS,
LIVING CLASSROOMS, ENGINEERING AND OPTICS!
These stations were led by experts in a number of areas. More pictures are coming ( especially of our optics demonstration) so stay tuned. You may notice students in other pictures with what looks like straws in their mouths. That was local honey!
Where is the queen? DC Beekeeper Toni Burnham looks for her.
The expressions on their faces says it all:).
Tracing our watershed with AWS Educator Ariel Trahan.
"Our watershed is that big?"
Erik Donald builds real satellites! Students touch, lift and explore satellite building materials
Students getting excited to touch the materials!
ORIGAMI Origami was one of students favorite Think Tank units this year. Origami provides students with so many opporutnities to practice their Habits of Mind. Thanks to a wonderful Kindergarten Grandmother for helping lead this station and show students amazing new folds!
Learning new folds from a true expert.
5th Grade self-proclaimed Origami loves came to the Expo explicitly for this station.
As you can see, we had an amazing evening of learning at Maury. As more pictures show up in my inbox, I'll be sure to add them here. Thank you again to everyone!
