One of my peers teaching 2nd grade, has a butterfly garden which has caterpillars creating their chrysalises and will turn into painted lady butterflies, which the butterfly picture in this is painted lady. I set a goal this summer to build a walk-in butterfly garden in my back yard, so this intrigued me, but what does it have to do with music?
A new percussion player met with my lead teacher to learn how to read and play music, and he gave her words to remember rhythms: “Butterfly” is for a triplet. An eight note pattern phrase is “Flower,” and a set of 4 sixteenth notes is a “caterpillar.” I suppose if I teach a 5 tuplet I’ll use the word “Lepidoptera.”
I’ll move on to making beautiful music.
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October 3, 2011 at 02:37 |
Tony- I am always amazed by your creativity! I love the butterflies. Thanks for sharing your ideas. How is economics treating you? Those kids making their “rent” payments on time?
October 10, 2011 at 15:14 |
Danna,
I have a separate blog dealing with teaching economics:
http://teachingeconomics.wordpress.com/
Thanks for asking!
tony
October 10, 2011 at 20:37 |
Even though butterflies may have nothing to do with music, I still think that doing the whole “caterpillar-to-butterfly” experiment is a great one, especially in the younger grades. This may not pertain to you and I, but those in the primary grades should use this as an idea for their own classrooms. I remember doing this experiment in the first or second grade and it can be quite a learning experience and a fun activity for the kids!
October 16, 2011 at 02:10 |
Tony, my butterflies mated, but they supposedly need milkweed to lay their eggs on, so I am trying to find some milkweed, the plant I was given does not appear to me to be what it should be. I will let you know if they manage to successfully procreate, maybe I will have more for you before spring.
I hope all is going well for you in the classroom!
October 16, 2011 at 06:06 |
Kayce,
Well, there is plenty of milkweed around, which I now know what it is. I’m needing to collect some milkweed seeds to get it going in my back yard, so I’ll attempt to collect some and some of it’s leaves and/or a plant for you.
Take Care,
Tony
October 17, 2011 at 03:32 |
Oh my gosh! This sounds awesome for 2nd grade! I was just reading a monarch story during DEAR time and thought, “Hey, I want to have a pet crystalis in my classroom to watch the butterfly hatch!” If you guys guys have success, let me know!