tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79102442148962814462024-03-05T03:44:19.219-08:00Critters in the ClassroomErica Bohrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403749523627389157noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-34484082763573796222014-10-12T07:30:00.000-07:002014-10-12T07:30:00.149-07:00Spiders - Your Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwNhM8cJXYZMWGqcJcwlIGz7FslrH8zo3ixaql73Vxd_HtPsYeLVQM4ZN0ct0CJ6iKdy44yWaXbVCRane8j_3Ebhx7WINLN16f7_vVv4_D88kyHZSSuXGM_LVbRCw1G01ajYgf79VSxY/s1600/spider+-+red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwNhM8cJXYZMWGqcJcwlIGz7FslrH8zo3ixaql73Vxd_HtPsYeLVQM4ZN0ct0CJ6iKdy44yWaXbVCRane8j_3Ebhx7WINLN16f7_vVv4_D88kyHZSSuXGM_LVbRCw1G01ajYgf79VSxY/s1600/spider+-+red.JPG" /></a></div>
Spiders! We see pretend ones in the store as Halloween decorations (some are pretty terrifying) or real ones outside in a web they have created. We might even have a few unknowingly residing in our classroom or maybe your class has one as a pet!<br />
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For some reason, these creatures are always something that students want to learn about. How are spiders different than insects? What is an orb web? Are all spiders poisonous? How does the spider not get stuck in her own web? These are questions that students will ask because they are curious and inquisitive. <br />
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Did you know spiders are really useful animals and serve mankind well? They eat mosquitoes, grasshoppers, locusts and other insects that are harmful to man. A single spider may kill about two thousand insects in its lifetime. Even though you may be afraid of spiders, very few are dangerous. The black widow and the brown house (recluse) spider do have poisonous bites, but there are no other common house spiders known to be dangerous.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spiders-A-Mini-ReadingScience-Comprehension-Unit-51559"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Spiders</span></b></a></td></tr>
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Spiders are not insects, and insects are not spiders. Spiders are arthropods because they have spinning glands used to create silken threads. Sometimes spiders are called arachnids because of their eight legs. Spiders and insects have different attributes. All insects have six legs, but all spiders have eight legs. An insect has a three-part body, but a spider has only two parts to its body. Insects have antennae or feelers, and spiders do not. Spiders can usually be found in basements, barns, garages, or attics. In warm weather, you can find them under rocks or logs, sitting on fences, or in the grass and flowers. There are about forty thousand different species of spiders. <br />
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Interested in learning more? Check out a ten page short mini reading/science unit about spiders. First, the students read a short passage about spiders. Then they answer several questions about the reading based on Bloom's Taxonomy, or they do an activity related to the reading passage. Activities include dictionary work, spider math problems, labeling the parts of a spider, and completing a spider web. This mini unit is appropriate for grades 3-5 and will take about five days to complete.<br />
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Scipihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04540662041195568946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-761300806959125182013-10-03T12:38:00.002-07:002013-10-03T12:38:35.373-07:00up close and personal with our insectsHey! It's Rachel from <a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the tattooed teacher</a> and I have the best tool to share with y'all today.<br />
It's a microscope, but it connects to my computer through a USB cord (so you could connect to other things as well, I just don't have any other things!)<br />
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it's called the Digital Blue microscope. It's probably not the greatest microscope in the world, but I love that I can take photos, video, and the scope is removable for looking at things that I may not want to pick up! No, I'm not reviewing this baby! It was inherited with my room, but it's awesome! I found a few online!</div>
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Here are some of our pics from this week! Some were alive, others not.so.much. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiet5acQ__NRSNXqSR4BwwLw0Z44gNTlhyphenhyphenEprafHIwyXz_OuF6qloIBwhdaLFl9yjbAn7P4ULXIyPcxkZNy1fYRmUi3YDgmYGECzLD09qrjdq511e4MTDnaTYuBeS4aX8rN4xFEox_0gfo/s1600/thorax.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiet5acQ__NRSNXqSR4BwwLw0Z44gNTlhyphenhyphenEprafHIwyXz_OuF6qloIBwhdaLFl9yjbAn7P4ULXIyPcxkZNy1fYRmUi3YDgmYGECzLD09qrjdq511e4MTDnaTYuBeS4aX8rN4xFEox_0gfo/s400/thorax.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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feel free to use any of these with your students!</div>
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It's also kinda fun to look at other things too! and completely kid friendly!</div>
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We've also had plenty of other life cycle fun with my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-Insects-Vocab-graphic-organizers-and-lessons-880866" target="_blank">Intro to Insects unit</a> and <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists-235758" target="_blank">Mealworms on Parade</a>!!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-Insects-Vocab-graphic-organizers-and-lessons-880866" target="_blank">takin notes on insect activity </a>while it's still nice and warm!</div>
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found lots of insects in the neglected garden!</div>
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Wednesday we released our painted lady butterflies. This one wanted to stay!</div>
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I love this! We made birth certificates for our <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists-235758" target="_blank">mealworms </a>and he even made their little habitat!</div>
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If you are looking for lots of fun with insect life cycles that's super hands-on, try these!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists-235758" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCw6_R7-uoJxFRpyeuyCaJOUeZk1dVj1wYxXIT1cbb5luVGpY9IOaC6mOIPs0fIIEnfn5T-7LZZIM7ZIUTUlqnNB_lTPcaBxvO4cFtpVyGx0czccj5YQaDpDy2vf_2VrsOnl1a1h5Tuc/s320/Picture1.png" width="241" /></a></div>
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and tomorrow we are using <a href="http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2013/04/hey-little-ant.html" target="_blank">Cara's Hey Little Ant writing activity</a>. We have an early release at lunch so it better take hours! </div>
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<img align="center" src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g447/eschaff/tattooed%20teacher/sgn4.png" />Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-21008055208141003102013-07-09T03:05:00.000-07:002013-07-09T03:05:13.213-07:00Good-bye sweet friend:(<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometime Sunday night our dear sweet friend Squeaky passed
away.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To say that my heart is broken is an understatement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel heartsick as I think that this August as I prepare
for a new school year I will not be doing that with my friend.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Squeaky started off as just a class pet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes I liked him and all but he was a
pet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Somewhere along the 3 years we spent together in first grade
he became much more than just a class pet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He became a friend, part of the family.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He has taught my family, class and me so much in those 3
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a playmate to my
kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a reading partner to my
class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was my loyal friend in my
classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was always ready to
listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved unconditionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been preparing myself for this day since spring
break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Squeaky had started to show his
age and I had decided that he might need to retire from the classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I kept him home to be with our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My youngest 2 kids played with him
daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Squeaky started to look better as
if he had turned around and was ready to maybe take on the classroom
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had begun to think about taking
him back for the last couple of weeks so the kids could at least see him before
summer break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately that never
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During one of his playtimes
with my son he suffered an injury to his back that caused him to be paralyzed
in one leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He still got around and
played as usual but he would drag his hind leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This last month his health has been going down and I knew
the inevitable was going to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
kept trying to prepare myself and my kids for his passing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids are taking it much better than me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time I think about him the tears
start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We held a little funeral in the backyard and placed him under
our Rose of Sharon bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My husband’s way of trying to fix this was to have me rush
out to get another rat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no
doubt that I wouldn’t get another rat for my class pet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very affectionate animals and I
believe make wonderful classroom pets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
I wasn’t really ready to get one just yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However you don’t tell 4 and 7 year olds you’re getting new pets and
then not do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went one and got 2
baby rats that are very cute and do not look like Squeaky at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need time to bond with them so they aren’t
thrown into the classroom setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
I feel up to it I will introduce them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe I’ll even have names picked out by then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So as this journey has come to an end, I will prepare myself
for the new journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-Dr. Seuss</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Good-bye sweet friend. We love you!</span></o:p></div>
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Picture a classroom of 24 first graders.</div>
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They are completing their Phonics work and then head out to the restroom. As they trickle back into the room they see 3 of their classmates with huge grins and sparkly eyes. The children are trying not to laugh and their teacher {me} keeps telling them not to tell the secret until everyone is back in the room. Once all the students are back at their seats a few have already noticed what the secret is and are as excited as the other few kids. Can you imagine what the room looks like and sounds like with 24 first graders once they realise that their Praying Mantis egg casing has hatched? Well let me tell ya the office down the hall probably could hear us. </div>
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We didn't have as many nymphs as we have had in the past with these but we still had a lot. We kept them 2 days and then took them outside to release them around the school. A few of them refused to come out of the bag so I took those home to have my husband release.</div>
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I always have one of these at home with my own kids to observe and we were lucky that it hatched yesterday. We actually got to watch the nymphs swarm out of the casing. At first I thought they were dead but it didn't take long and they were running and jumping all over the sides of the netting. Sorry the picture isn't very clear but here they are as they are coming out of the egg.</div>
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Where do you get one of these wonderful egg casing? </div>
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I'm glad you asked:)</div>
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I buy mine from <a href="http://www.insectlore.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Insect Lore</span></a>. I love this site. I have bought several Praying Mantis eggs over the years and I also get my Painted Butterfly Caterpillars from here too.
I have only ever had trouble with one Praying Mantis egg and they were wonderful with sending me a replacement for the one that didn't hatch. Insect Lore also has lot of other wonderful items that I am looking into getting to broaden my Science Center. </div>
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So if your looking for something easy and exiting to do with your kiddos I would highly recommend a Praying Mantis egg. </div>
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You and the kids won't be disappointed:)</div>
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thebusybusyhivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102581506901211795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-60275014102054364782013-04-19T21:14:00.000-07:002013-04-19T21:15:38.461-07:00Writing Animal Research Reports!<div style="text-align: center;">
Hey All! I am a first grade teacher from <a href="http://www.fallintofirst.com/">Fall Into First</a> and I wanted to share the fun way that my students learned to write research reports that centered around our amazing class pet! </div>
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We
are working on Informative Writing and we are about to begin writing
our ZooPals Animal Research Reports! Before I let my students begin their own report, we write an animal research report <u>together</u> from beginning to end so that I can model the steps to informative writing. </div>
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Our whole-group research report is about desert tortoises because we have a desert tortoise as a class pet! (Did I mention I live in Arizona?)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Meet Shelldon! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-kRAqJYN3wX4fXXazbAYxTmGl1LuCd4iZD5quOnd-yLZvr87CMMygAoMOoF5_FkhkaSuoOvRucmmtjwqcBCEbyjT2oebuZIfadGhmO1oePLKdXDLnsqCmLVi5ufHH2WQpeOLWRd_bzv9/s1600/photo(3).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-kRAqJYN3wX4fXXazbAYxTmGl1LuCd4iZD5quOnd-yLZvr87CMMygAoMOoF5_FkhkaSuoOvRucmmtjwqcBCEbyjT2oebuZIfadGhmO1oePLKdXDLnsqCmLVi5ufHH2WQpeOLWRd_bzv9/s320/photo(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(For the record he has had that name long before the TV show <i>The Big Bang</i> started)</div>
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Shelldon
became part of my class about four years ago. A former family called
and asked if I was interested in adopting him because they were moving
and needed to find him a new home. FYI a tortoise is a GREAT classroom
pet, they are super low maintenance, and the kids LOVE him! </div>
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I went to the library and found several easy-read non-fiction book about Desert Tortoises. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwawbutHUEXkHa_mRY_bey6l6C6egLqzaRPqSx8SX9g3KL5lPGNNLGKfaoeONj8r7W62-PCGLfj_E8R3jG02dCjrE2k_KPiDSmwLBt8RXun_rYBVcj47-zJdEtvk_4ma6dLjcRpSTJGtcK/s1600/12-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwawbutHUEXkHa_mRY_bey6l6C6egLqzaRPqSx8SX9g3KL5lPGNNLGKfaoeONj8r7W62-PCGLfj_E8R3jG02dCjrE2k_KPiDSmwLBt8RXun_rYBVcj47-zJdEtvk_4ma6dLjcRpSTJGtcK/s400/12-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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(<i>Desert Tortoises</i> by Christopher Blomquist, <i>Desert Tortoises</i> by Sophia Lockwood and <i>Desert Tortoises</i> by Elizabeth Thomas) </div>
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We brainstormed the topics we would like to research and wrote them on our planning sheet. We decided to write about:</div>
<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li>what a tortoise looks like</li>
<li>what a tortoise eats</li>
<li>where a tortoise lives</li>
<li>cool facts about the desert tortoise</li>
</ul>
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Each day we read through our
non-fiction text looking for facts that fit our topic. The kids did a
great job. We tackled one page a day so we spent about one week
researching and writing. </div>
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1 - A desert tortoise has a hard shell that covers its body. Their back
legs look like little elephant feel. An adult tortoise is nine to
fifteen inches long. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQrmcoGEV2UkWIkWhNu-Iw1Zg-iYfo1sQX9htfcPjpS6PfG3Aazol09DPkfi19ffTwjRC4U0jutfz5OSM0wdvSd1rkftUQ_1bM8PIU0Yhvqqonq93NuAEVT3Pbc0y5YMRz_Z9LquTHRRo/s1600/photo(5).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQrmcoGEV2UkWIkWhNu-Iw1Zg-iYfo1sQX9htfcPjpS6PfG3Aazol09DPkfi19ffTwjRC4U0jutfz5OSM0wdvSd1rkftUQ_1bM8PIU0Yhvqqonq93NuAEVT3Pbc0y5YMRz_Z9LquTHRRo/s320/photo(5).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Page
2 - A desert tortoise is a herbivore. They eat cactus, wildflowers and
dried plants. They get water from the plants they eat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqX62rIuybW1_DIyqiYAHh3m79Af6U2WedusOaYmuCuQZxPKYhxVOj1t6WzeLEyUKCPn6KnsYmbOCzBKLd7R8c2SdDNW2jRSHfFI-VRPiOHpRjBV-WrAPmNFINZjolscK2rm1NMfKa_oVf/s1600/photo(7).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqX62rIuybW1_DIyqiYAHh3m79Af6U2WedusOaYmuCuQZxPKYhxVOj1t6WzeLEyUKCPn6KnsYmbOCzBKLd7R8c2SdDNW2jRSHfFI-VRPiOHpRjBV-WrAPmNFINZjolscK2rm1NMfKa_oVf/s320/photo(7).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Page 3 - A tortoise lives on land. They dig burrows to stay cool. Desert tortoises live in Arizona, California and Mexico. </div>
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4 - Desert tortoises live up to 100 years. They are in danger of dying
out so laws protect them. A hatchling is about 2 inches long. </div>
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I
wanted my students to get the FULL report writing experience so we did
revisions then "published" our report by typing it in the computer lab! </div>
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(I
love technology and try to incorporate it whenever possible, this was
NOT my students first experience using Microsoft Word) It took a little
time and patience but when they typed their report but they were so
incredibly proud of themselves!</div>
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We made this cute little tortoise art project by painting a bowl brown and gluing on tissue paper. </div>
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Next, my students worked in a small group to write their own ZooPals Animal Research Report! <a href="http://www.fallintofirst.com/2013/04/zoopals-animal-reports.html" target="_blank">Click here to read all about it! </a>They turned out AMAZING! </div>
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Click here to get my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Animal-Research-Report-Teacher-Guide-and-Student-Pages" target="_blank">Animal Research Report packet</a>! </div>
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Thanks for reading! Stop by my blog to find more ideas and resources for your primary classroom!</div>
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Angie Neal http://www.blogger.com/profile/11889808883878375610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-46217370844392070252013-04-17T15:55:00.001-07:002013-04-17T15:55:22.764-07:00{insect invasion} mealworms, crickets, and caterpillars!<br />
Well, we are officially opening up a zoo in Mrs. Lamb's class!<br />
not really<br />
but it feels that way<br />
we have always used several insects for observation during our life cycle unit<br />
it just seemed to happen all at once this year!<br />
Everything came within 2 days<br />
rather than spaced out like we had planned<br />
but I am nothing if not flexible!<br />
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So first things first-we began with our mealworm study<br />
the caterpillars were fine in their cup<br />
the crickets were in the closet<br />
and the incubator was warming up waiting on the eggs<br />
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I thought I would try to supply to with some management tips if you alo teach life cycles!<br />
one: everything needs a home and a label!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDD0e0vHwjEB_PWrk4TOQ29IX11JiFlhrF1TuZOPEv3QVYgFanNGl16eIvttYdcHrVsNabnQWkSfGTytZWxPFxNDG7t_lqkSxSwTBnu23AfVOPJahveCOt5Es_1amJZR0pb_QwZXG2BHg/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDD0e0vHwjEB_PWrk4TOQ29IX11JiFlhrF1TuZOPEv3QVYgFanNGl16eIvttYdcHrVsNabnQWkSfGTytZWxPFxNDG7t_lqkSxSwTBnu23AfVOPJahveCOt5Es_1amJZR0pb_QwZXG2BHg/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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all eggs get a number and an X and 0 for turning purposes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTLNh5CEv6zy_0d_SYUk9toqfy7dhOzHohKFd_C-P-0QKcPP2BxFfQSx874J9B7n2IX9jv8pY-25R2gGcAR55U2L5JF2TXukINxakkWQZLAtKBBNuyRQiCvueWxfabGIpz9N3W62f8MI/s1600/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTLNh5CEv6zy_0d_SYUk9toqfy7dhOzHohKFd_C-P-0QKcPP2BxFfQSx874J9B7n2IX9jv8pY-25R2gGcAR55U2L5JF2TXukINxakkWQZLAtKBBNuyRQiCvueWxfabGIpz9N3W62f8MI/s320/01.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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all mealworms are in a personal habitat labeled with parent names</div>
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these are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Solo-Clear-Plastic-Lids-16/dp/B00AR6Z3RW/ref=sr_sp-btf_title_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1366237004&sr=8-11&keywords=solo+cups+with+lids+clear">solo cups and lids</a>. </div>
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I've had lots of inquiries! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntVtcgpsq9Fq_UaG-61wXQFiAwtJ3qmU1CZaLE6MEOqZDD1qcWAQ1LfDG55FaCSUn6O-yIvGrN_h9ElhFlH59vD8EVuJ0wCkd0OcEg8aV030kDtqWDOOHGD7PmkfMkdMJe4otEDPA0L4/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntVtcgpsq9Fq_UaG-61wXQFiAwtJ3qmU1CZaLE6MEOqZDD1qcWAQ1LfDG55FaCSUn6O-yIvGrN_h9ElhFlH59vD8EVuJ0wCkd0OcEg8aV030kDtqWDOOHGD7PmkfMkdMJe4otEDPA0L4/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Caterpillars actually stay in the container they arrive in. If you order a butterfly kit, this is how it will arrive.</div>
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You transfer them to the butterfly tent when they form their chrysalis by attaching the paper towel to the side of the tent. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhNfHnQTA7UAsr_WmVUlvZPPJZjI3J3z_bsyJWCiVObf560juNq-yYB2tGJ8AsXDObfKS7JBgCkr9v1dx3i4upulsyYDoqRw55MvpUU7b0vRypH4wo9uwx9s4Vz6u5dyrxRaj4HSG3q0/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhNfHnQTA7UAsr_WmVUlvZPPJZjI3J3z_bsyJWCiVObf560juNq-yYB2tGJ8AsXDObfKS7JBgCkr9v1dx3i4upulsyYDoqRw55MvpUU7b0vRypH4wo9uwx9s4Vz6u5dyrxRaj4HSG3q0/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwi5t0OPg3Bhel6ZTjJHony8_jL8cBuMc2i_Pc41OnW7KHFRljkMPzl_DdpR2yWxp9_5-pzlggDwI3L3uJ8fiHtAwH0HH-oH447cYrxuYvuTRfZDO_TAsWeP7XUMn3TcuZJvphaqVLzc/s1600/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwi5t0OPg3Bhel6ZTjJHony8_jL8cBuMc2i_Pc41OnW7KHFRljkMPzl_DdpR2yWxp9_5-pzlggDwI3L3uJ8fiHtAwH0HH-oH447cYrxuYvuTRfZDO_TAsWeP7XUMn3TcuZJvphaqVLzc/s320/02.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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and for the lap of luxury</div>
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here's the cricket condo!</div>
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We attached 2 liter bottles to each side of a central container</div>
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one side is filled with moist soil for egg laying (which was all day long!)</div>
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and the other with dry sand</div>
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if the middle is the "play area" or "living room" </div>
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haha</div>
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it just has paper towels and pieces of cardboard to prevent the inevitable cannibalism</div>
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now, don't get me wrong</div>
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it's a lot of work on my part</div>
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but if my class was a tad more well behaved, it would have been easy to do this with them!</div>
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they did set up their mealworm habitats</div>
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this is the creature they interact with the most</div>
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and they are by far the cleanest!</div>
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and they can survive falls from desks</div>
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and they can't hop too quickly to get away</div>
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you get the picture</div>
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so here's a peek at what we've done this week in science</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7drBLXVd2ga0YFfE3PlDxp7MG1Xpa_nU3qKefraCecggtGJ9PHtbqWsXwyCMPCfNsydyxFWVni6-C5knG7ZtiyPsB4h-fzxDFIeVZTICZ1vvRDNyN3PwF4Fs8kUMao1QAdV6EXRbbag/s320/8.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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these are our birth announcements</div>
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Next year I will do some for each insect</div>
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but this year they are all mealworms</div>
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these are included<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists"> in my file</a> as well as everything below</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXUsu8KePnRq1P4SKbcDKFTiFMMbMNNYhORkAcp1TGycvUHoDUF0M9XLoN-ZETcnCyfdy0QmYXhLKkBoiYOMgDrFQ76CpZaAcXi2Ifu0s07cVheGIlMJSlrCmeiL70PXael95ig-Hd_U/s320/7.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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and lots of observing and recording</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHEzOFld2RiUZFQ7TT3zUbvUi5Dv5CIdOzF8pZBL8RU2dX67j5rYCWYd0zILmAFPAwQXL6v8wweIasp9-p3X2OoSv7bKXDFNRURfaurigOyg_cCMIgS1W-NHZWQpckFnDCFwhL8byujw/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHEzOFld2RiUZFQ7TT3zUbvUi5Dv5CIdOzF8pZBL8RU2dX67j5rYCWYd0zILmAFPAwQXL6v8wweIasp9-p3X2OoSv7bKXDFNRURfaurigOyg_cCMIgS1W-NHZWQpckFnDCFwhL8byujw/s320/6.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaACrk-hdfZgehUX7DfYkz3HmcGdK0DAkzNWkgPRsH4OehZBxO9SWMpanWAmZAtjj7M7ssSX_73YD5npas1wV88MW0twGrAryDxiF2KHQtnjLsTLp2oC4rCL9vw-QrwNIXY3ryr4ZeHPw/s320/5.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOUVr6i1WS4-lJ9A6IJM2olrroUwYKmf5lzD_d8OorAT2pj9bmSyETnNcoV4U07uY0sOJexwUEqwyLR1e0_iCL_ukykPwitenJk5B4cgJqYyDPLQ_ox4r6TVtaDl29o3D3nchTZ5u_jA/s320/9.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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so if you'd like to observe some little creatures with a complete metamorphosis</div>
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mealworms are definitely the way to go!</div>
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widely available at your local pet store</div>
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cheap in large quantities</div>
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and clean and easy!</div>
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I'm also adding a few more ideas to <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mealworms-on-Parade-a-life-cycle-unit-for-budding-biologists">my unit</a> as we go</div>
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I keep finding new ways to explore these boogers</div>
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so snatch it up now!</div>
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Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-51203309719972841672013-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:002013-04-08T06:00:01.669-07:00One Egg Lots of BabiesMy class is very excited about our new pet egg.<br />
This little egg isn't like any other egg.<br />
It doesn't have a soft baby chick inside.<br />
It doesn't have just one baby in it either.<br />
It has anywhere from 75-200 babies in it.<br />
It is a Praying Mantis egg casing.<br />
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<a href="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/1364587863_zps56083d26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/1364587863_zps56083d26.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/1364587866_zpsfa511660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/1364587866_zpsfa511660.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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These egg casings are much like a spider's egg that when it hatches lots of babies will come out.<br />
Praying mantis are great for gardens and farms.<br />
They eat all the bugs that harm plants. And they even eat those pesky bugs that bug humans like mosquitoes. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ekjVfj3S4dSsSRFxZXQlsv5VoVnt7OcI0rOPI-0gMxezXDerhJOwuDQxYGtmbC3lQmw2jvYCZBMr6-GpO-3NZ1RDVt1Qp0WXr3qKArpZsEIGzLN1-zZrcHVZZHaes1bxcqOOfuKiFbwA/s1600/praying+mantis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ekjVfj3S4dSsSRFxZXQlsv5VoVnt7OcI0rOPI-0gMxezXDerhJOwuDQxYGtmbC3lQmw2jvYCZBMr6-GpO-3NZ1RDVt1Qp0WXr3qKArpZsEIGzLN1-zZrcHVZZHaes1bxcqOOfuKiFbwA/s1600/praying+mantis.png" /></a></div>
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Once our egg hatched we will only be able to keep them about a day and then they will have to be released in our park. After that one day the babies will start to eat each other or just die without food like aphids {which I don't have lying around handy}.<br />
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The Praying Mantis are known to stay around where they are born or released as long as there is enough food for them. In the years past that I have had these with my students we have been able to find babies weeks later in the park in the bushes. The kiddos are always so excited when they find them and always have to show them off to the Kindergarten kids that we have recess with each day. <br />
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We have had our egg casing for about 2 weeks now so any day this next week are so we should have lots of babies to observe. I know we are excited to see these amazing creatures and learn more about them. <br />
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I would love to hear if you have had any unusual pets or visitors in your classrooms.<br />
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thebusybusyhivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102581506901211795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-53222744698173103672013-03-26T06:00:00.000-07:002013-03-26T06:00:00.316-07:00Introduction to Squeaky the Rat<div style="text-align: left;">
Hello Critter Lovers!!</div>
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My name is Heather Byers and I'm the author of <a href="http://thebusybusyhive.blogspot.com/">The Busy Busy Hive</a> blog. I am so excited to be able to share on this wonderful blog. I {Puffy} Heart animals, especially ones in the classroom. I have an unusual pet in my classroom { at least my kiddos' parents think so}. I have a pet rat.</div>
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I think it's his tail that sets people off to rats. Squeaky is my 3rd classroom pet rat. He loves to snuggle, be held and he acts a lot like a cat.</div>
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I was first intoduced to rats as classroom pets when I was teaching 5th grade my 1st year as a teacher.</div>
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My partner teacher had 13 rats {yep 13 that wasn't a typo}as pets in her classroom. She also talked about how calm and wonderful they were as pets and the kids loved them. That year I had gerbils and hamsters as class pets. Needless to say both of those types were not my ideal pet. The gerbils were too fast to handle and the hamsters kept escaping out of their cage. Not that hamsters and gerbils don't make good pets. They just weren't the right ones for me and my classroom. When I started teaching 1st grade I decided to try a pet rat. I had found my ideal classroom pet. I will probably always have a rat in my classroom now. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/52271c16-695d-4a71-8894-17e683742345_zpsfeeda1b0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="pet rat" border="0" height="272" src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/52271c16-695d-4a71-8894-17e683742345_zpsfeeda1b0.jpg" title="Squeaky the rat" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squeaky eating his snack.</td></tr>
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His favorite part of the day is snack time. He always ends up with some banana or apple from someone's snack. Squeaky is quiet and very good with the kids. My own kids love it when its Spring break or Summer Vacation because they know that Squeaky will be home.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/e613c4f9-09de-4d48-abe6-126b0a0a7478_zps813e11ca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Squeaky" border="0" height="320" src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t270/fureverbaby/e613c4f9-09de-4d48-abe6-126b0a0a7478_zps813e11ca.jpg" title="Pet Rat" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you have anything good to eat?</td></tr>
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Thank you for reading this little intro to Squeaky.</div>
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Squeaky and I look forward to sharing even more</div>
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about our classroom adventures and happenings in the future.</div>
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thebusybusyhivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102581506901211795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-36846234925455936412013-03-22T18:20:00.003-07:002013-03-22T18:20:53.451-07:00C&C Guinea Pig Cages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcTEzniLYnbMLQ_jRn6QfopW1g2EiFJlmkwUNYGjevSKMewhhZqzYGL0KXEnHF3QEAtZYAQGsLaJVAus0kBx0d-ZE46DL-_waCj1SLx2d0NAQRDjZGZfjRctr45ARwohgqGH3wYODFog/s1600/DSC_1433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcTEzniLYnbMLQ_jRn6QfopW1g2EiFJlmkwUNYGjevSKMewhhZqzYGL0KXEnHF3QEAtZYAQGsLaJVAus0kBx0d-ZE46DL-_waCj1SLx2d0NAQRDjZGZfjRctr45ARwohgqGH3wYODFog/s640/DSC_1433.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
My guinea pigs, Daisy and Chrysanthemum, live in a huge C & C cage. You can purchase them on <a href="http://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/">the Guinea Pig Cages Store website</a> or read about how to make them on <a href="http://www.guineapigcages.com/index.htm">Cavy Spirit's Guinea Pig Cages</a> website.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3njIirUnTdd-BSBmarMG7UuYB9uyD9R3yknT-rtjmmHfc4YdZ9qqS97NEYKE_ZYwZ9GbS8BII8w_lHcUtv-b4hwdk_-7O3NjJ0o-ZG1TXe3SBmME6ta4c9h2sQV8CICvidL9r6ktPao/s1600/DSC_1434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3njIirUnTdd-BSBmarMG7UuYB9uyD9R3yknT-rtjmmHfc4YdZ9qqS97NEYKE_ZYwZ9GbS8BII8w_lHcUtv-b4hwdk_-7O3NjJ0o-ZG1TXe3SBmME6ta4c9h2sQV8CICvidL9r6ktPao/s640/DSC_1434.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yes, that is a litter box in the corner and yes they use it! They don't use it like a cat would. They really just use it because it is in the corner they want to use as a bathroom. The trick is to put something they would not want to defecate on in the other corners. This "trains" them to go in the litter box. I place the houses, food, and water bottle in the other cornes. I use basic non-clumping cat litter for the litter box. Guinea pigs do not jump, so they do not need a lid on the cage. They do climb or hop on top of their houses. The cage is still high enough that they cannot get out. </div>
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I use <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000256DS6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000256DS6&linkCode=as2&tag=ericsfir-20">Carefresh Natural Pet Bedding</a> to fill the cage. Before I place the bedding in the cage, I line the cage with chart paper. This makes it easier to clean at the end of the week. I also use a dust pan to get out the old bedding. </div>
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I hope you liked this peak at my piggies' palace! You must check out some of the creations people have made! This <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D29WcRyUP0">lady</a> has a guinea pig room...those pigs are living the life!</div>
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Erica Bohrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403749523627389157noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-56709896666642149932013-02-02T23:24:00.000-08:002013-02-03T00:02:12.935-08:00Birds in the Classroom: Part 1: Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmp8Nsbz_zmII6RbjWYQfsIcUwBdLqVZHEUuzQqIgSEQsk47xnCrq0N386g5uRjde5LZzYO-aQWi1qCjaeA5Hj35BMCidsccSeHVCQnvj4OAfHJpIp1RKwy0dPANaVJSassy4aF9iX_E/s1600/classroompetsblogsiggy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My name is Maya and I
am a preschool teacher from O'ahu, Hawaii, with a passion for birds. Previously, I have always had fish as pets because they have been easiest
to care for and were the only realistic pet I could keep in past
classroom environments. My classrooms in the past have either had no
ventilation or light (wooden jealousy windows) when I wasn't there or
have been at a location that did not allow pets other than fish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This
school year I was moved to a campus where I have my own portable with
central air, many large windows, and is a space where I can have more
than just fish. I didn't intend to have birds as classroom pets because they are a very big responsibility - and I will discuss this in detail later - and I have my own parrot at home but, through a long and sad story of people who couldn't keep their birds anymore, I ended up with little bundles of feathers in my class in August 2012.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBt5Ce1AYdCkY-JzoIPgRMRdteA1im3_FDv6hMD5VKOXTsEAozmCrDlhOw9AmyRwEQvN0hBx6BCLBaEL7xsqaOVGhZ5pMYx7-jRwY6nrsK0lRF2sZw1Qfh5HxnlUIoopA4PKMneNcwA0/s1600/froot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBt5Ce1AYdCkY-JzoIPgRMRdteA1im3_FDv6hMD5VKOXTsEAozmCrDlhOw9AmyRwEQvN0hBx6BCLBaEL7xsqaOVGhZ5pMYx7-jRwY6nrsK0lRF2sZw1Qfh5HxnlUIoopA4PKMneNcwA0/s400/froot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meet Froot Loop, an American Cinnamon Pied lovebird.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLytLYVri3lNTh-WqoV_43OetEEnS9R7i8DcyV4biKXSHfo2gYPgRvybQpkanndvd9B5SC4ElYAym4eL2lY_ToTmBh8tilTzjrTAcc6t01u_QBG8EWw4AOGQLUwpFyuaIgDUwdZFMtz7k/s1600/crunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLytLYVri3lNTh-WqoV_43OetEEnS9R7i8DcyV4biKXSHfo2gYPgRvybQpkanndvd9B5SC4ElYAym4eL2lY_ToTmBh8tilTzjrTAcc6t01u_QBG8EWw4AOGQLUwpFyuaIgDUwdZFMtz7k/s400/crunch.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meet Crunchberry, a Medium Green (split to Orangefaced) lovebird.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you are thinking of a bird as a classroom pet, there are many things you will need to think about. Some questions to ask yourself:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- Will the noise of a bird(s) distract your students or disrupt learning?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- Are you financially able to provide for the bird(s) care and vet bills?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- Are you willing to cook for the bird(s)?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- Are you able to designate a space in your classroom for a large cage and activity area?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- Will you leave the bird(s) in the classroom or take them home at night, on weekends, on breaks? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">- </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you plan to leave them in the class, d</span>oes your classroom provide ventilation at night and light on weekends?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While birds are absolutely adorable, they are a very big responsibility - think two year olds that never grow up - and can be a big financial burden. In coming blog posts, I will go over what should be required in order to have birds as classroom pets. Part two will discuss the diet these feathered friends need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To be continued...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmp8Nsbz_zmII6RbjWYQfsIcUwBdLqVZHEUuzQqIgSEQsk47xnCrq0N386g5uRjde5LZzYO-aQWi1qCjaeA5Hj35BMCidsccSeHVCQnvj4OAfHJpIp1RKwy0dPANaVJSassy4aF9iX_E/s1600/classroompetsblogsiggy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmp8Nsbz_zmII6RbjWYQfsIcUwBdLqVZHEUuzQqIgSEQsk47xnCrq0N386g5uRjde5LZzYO-aQWi1qCjaeA5Hj35BMCidsccSeHVCQnvj4OAfHJpIp1RKwy0dPANaVJSassy4aF9iX_E/s200/classroompetsblogsiggy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07612998322575332278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-14620077426026141742012-10-22T15:28:00.001-07:002012-10-22T15:28:01.849-07:00a sure cure for arachnophobia {freebie}<p>each year I hand this poem out a poem to my kids called A Murder in the Garden {freebie at the end}and they think I am all kinds of crazy! What kind of teacher gives out a poem about murder to seven year olds!</p> <p>Well, maybe a teacher who lets you hold a tarantula!</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegeCRfDIxnFe5sczpNVfXHa6mzUuG98qLltW3iQMWmxY7kthPpgy8HzAn-OxMWFLU2nXhuaqFI0Fyt1MFxhBNwXEdj3M8NHtYkwS6Ed7O-qsf3ck46FvgBQYBKi8Soz-gtXw5xU_kykTy/s1600-h/IMG_1885%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1885" border="0" alt="IMG_1885" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5O8FwYXwpdPEJqaVy2PqJ1DohbX0ef8Qdao7mSKEtSA5tj4drn3UAPTa0vzBsxFbH_lfzeOMVgYIVmwcwDNRDSgX0iu6Qf3N_twq0o-nVWm6vUOR7pX4zLM1AzwYLccSzHPwZYJ3Sg3R/?imgmax=800" width="240" height="230" /></a></p> <p>Yep, I finally let the students pet Hairyette. They were so excited. Only three students kind of stayed back out of the way. And one eventually couldn't help themselves and came over with us. Since we are in the midst of a measurement unit and spiders I figured it had to be done!</p> <p>Of course I started with my recess gloves on. Then I loosened up and just let her crawl on me sans gloves. The kids know a fall can kill this fragile pet and were very good about not bombarding me. Even though we know they are covered in hair, they were still shocked at how soft she is.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmY4VZ-5l-5rimjqfi8Pl9k_NhspWFuBTGQ8xeKzraZxWY6cpdjW3nIx7omqpcV0s_k6Z9Tqxs4EbdeLaNciF7jj8x0xA5Y-PAzZFA6kG2tMGF4IJZce5JWIMhblyTGXnSAzDVgzCLj_J5/s1600-h/IMG_1886%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1886" border="0" alt="IMG_1886" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Sc_cZdHilL_WI05qE_-2tFLtcR0qagHTEzWUBlj9kyp6aYxe3Z9wDcqFVXrhiUl5gRANtFReYrIU_8BPgPe-QzOKOCqhuQRXhzVqMXiBvsThVp9AiVDB5qMG_NY06YlP7qGUHQeVCT_V/?imgmax=800" width="240" height="224" /></a>  </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yG1mVhkSEn8/UIXIU6MiiuI/AAAAAAAAFWc/WKad86ZYph4/s1600-h/IMG_1884%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1884" border="0" alt="IMG_1884" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YpoOECT8Xpk/UIXIVQOlp-I/AAAAAAAAFWk/t2irD9HZ9M0/IMG_1884_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a>   <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QbKEdLZS7-LX60Eh6cd7aavpK4whTBQibr4dlfPwfgYpu66iwXu_QU78IXaoDFF8nBHAArX_CK2PX1R4hNjakWjRq63sQlcsPWuH7Efjd2Q2TZPRaC9MJpeDDj8Y0pwbdmp7CopgBbgg/s1600-h/IMG_1882%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1882" border="0" alt="IMG_1882" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gSSq8OivmCM/UIXIWdARXNI/AAAAAAAAFW0/s69IbT_T6vg/IMG_1882_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a></p> <p>After a minute or two we started measuring. Her legs are 2" long, her cephalothorax is about 1" across, and her total body length is 4". Just a little gal! And I just impressed you with my bog words didn't I?! Well, I impressed the kiddos today too. I told them I spent my weekend writing an arachnid book for our class and learned all kinds of new information. Like daddy long legs are not poisonous-we already knew that they aren't spiders, but harvestman. I had heard they were super poisonous but their mouths were too small to bite a human.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NoHB14lwgx5eze8uJNmTGJGgxErMeC6HP7fVJ3sowPyJuaPD1SsWseGPZgK5FYC8wbhKxuuOEbVgF-YigLuu9XbK33Ix5UYj0aheeSGknevOwzb13XChFZgSSKQMKD74NOkWAEY9XVNE/s1600-h/IMG_1890%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1890" border="0" alt="IMG_1890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk0zUjYz5AK8KI2gFZG99sxM4fpYcQ0duhPqHDg42mqaH7e1-h09C4vcv4Nz2Kf2aW4y-xLFFM5d1lmjTHCfc7e7NmUP9L9P4oYq2-X5CJsuHOXGc6qo041lX1t6t8fdmG8m1td1bdczC/?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5J_3pq9R4tgLb47Psb6rcd3emlbLQ4pzY8S0PRf5oNduL2qof2zbNR7SDjJK5dcrG_K82jpcZAp6iZW5opywH14hkugUOwmdj71-E4aLuwV3AzMNaTyBxH_t0nmmuLxoVph6qhgLbr20/s1600-h/IMG_1891%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1891" border="0" alt="IMG_1891" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWckaB6MUur1jZesEyj6kJ_Xsc8YJCY3wasxhDhbd8JQMv6W6GaopvNbCU11d60LSCNdPIopm7ErP7fxRxdhxsCEatZyo74nan5-NEdkdiFJ1e-t8NsJwlisVcgMWZ7bXRuCGVfcVA9fn/?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpVhviDLZExUJ2yZf3kiKYmri23f67CpOIx9x3nLpplJQNBdf2hgfJ1Je4GmbIt8K4gduGA2AfmSLK7IJZUXdNkHUPuW5k8uk3DxZwYnQMla43zOFACzjd-HMHRFsanxXpXbPxN_GTdDK/s1600-h/IMG_1892%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1892" border="0" alt="IMG_1892" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKmJfSoV8cWKhwexmbDUgXCNDJGIT5zQs49Tb_ev1CEWcugHObg-wiLGOI8mUkyCl_zjrv8n94ty2MpMFXPx-IKKSLZa464xb0YYGnZwLwiZExgcLvOR_CMOWmt8zLB4ctnvi4sA-qBQ9/?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a></p> <p align="center">and here’s where she ended up! Why do all animals go into hair?? I was really trying to prevent a fall {ignore the bad hair day today!}</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVPSY1xfutPE61cShtcZDqNCvstMDj_TLQapowGUFGPMZ7T5i8f9ijxRhoShYdgXSFLLg5IwTeUpCidgVicaFZIu00ZTJ8KyG3-dtLK92koW8qooPOrxc9go_rah8KFJxtM81edm6QJxn/s1600-h/IMG_1897%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1897" border="0" alt="IMG_1897" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTYn6NlhhGh1Mi1ndXr_ab-MfdjuOKf7J-m95VejvMkjMeAjXOygVO0VhF7as-r8iSU6gvlyouIly5GXQFg8fgN6dDPJ_SRY9_-xiEjBChrbox7iBgC5T_mMjbreAQafg9ZADFwcVPWml/?imgmax=800" width="191" height="240" /></a>      <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLczIA6A4B4HvY8EXMgkNkFEEwPZOfXgT_-Y5iTZ4VEmo8SZ0Od2uwxrPyuKj4pAjvpIE1BkoO9hj0qNT3Jw6GJTAO1-vHE1ABU3mavaosnpvN4HyxFg8NkZulcxY6mTMrrbpm5VxTIlQE/s1600-h/IMG_1899%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1899" border="0" alt="IMG_1899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWRtnoDpsp_kCm2SGqxc1dUKXd5RC7LQE1qWTyQTbsOGac_6XrI_ZLYjlpTpiVXOPAeqrKGN6S4wpUSfZlS7qj44qL3cGtBiKHa_L3xF0_JJp5wJnRqcKcX14kHSxskoLQWNo2jqyi_rl/?imgmax=800" width="180" height="240" /></a></p> <p>If you wanna impress your kiddos, snag my little<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Arachnid-mini-pack-minibook-graphic-organizers-response-sheets"> arachnid love mini pack</a>!</p> <p>and grab the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Murder-in-the-Garden-poem-for-visualizing-and-adjusting-freebie">Murder in the Garden poem for free</a>!</p> <p>and my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/arachnids-Venn-diagram-freebie">arachnids need love Venn for free</a> too</p> <p>I hate recreating the wheel and so many of you amazing bloggers have already made bat and spider units, so I sure wasn't going to!</p> <p>Happy Halloween!</p> Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-88630899858134908772012-09-03T16:39:00.000-07:002012-09-03T16:41:05.262-07:00Amphibians in the classroom...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Daddy on the way to FIRE Expo<br />
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A great way to check out unusual critter possibilities, is to attend an expo like <a href="http://www.repticon.com/" target="_blank">Repticon.</a> My family usually attends the ones that are within an hour from home. Last weekend, we loaded up and headed out to FIRE in Orlando with "Big Daddy" our bearded dragon, navigating! This trip we focused on amphibians. Our local pet store just went out of business (we are very sad about this) and we were able to purchase great exoterra and zoomed tanks for more than half off. My husband found a website called <a href="http://www.joshsfrogs.com/" target="_blank">Josh's Frogs</a> and we ordered everything we would need for some frog habitats. We decided on White's Tree Frogs. Otherwise known as "Dumpy" frogs, these tree frogs are from Australia and Indonesia, and are great for beginners. They eat fruit flies, crickets, and other small insects. It is a calm frog and one of the few that you can actually hold. And I did not realize this until we got home, but they grow up to four inches and live up to sixteen years. :) We have a lot of time to bond. Our two new family members are "Glitzy" and "Olive".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look closely and you will notice "Olive" in the upper left corner.</td></tr>
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Penny Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01603566644336677658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-19106071995570671582012-08-18T19:00:00.000-07:002012-08-18T19:00:49.665-07:00Reptiles in the classroom<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Big Daddy"</td></tr>
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I love critters of all shapes and sizes! Last year, I was the fortunate recipient of a donated bearded dragon. Someone in our community had purchased a bearded dragon (and every imaginable accessory) for his family. They enjoyed "Big Daddy" for a while and then the kids got older and had interests that kept them on the go. So, one day the office pages me and says they have a donation for the science lab. I walk to the office and a gentleman says it is outside in his car. When he opened the back of his suv and I saw our newest addition, I have to admit I was a little frightened. I did not want to hold him for several weeks. Thank goodness, it was love at first sight for my husband, so he took good care of him until I was comfortable. It didn't take long, and "Big Daddy" won my heart. He really does have a lot of personality. And the students love him!<br />
When you have something you love, sometimes you need more than one...so, bearded dragon #2 joins us this year. I was able to get "Bubba" through a "Pets in the Classroom" grant. I want the students to be able to watch him grow ("Big Daddy" came to us full grown). The students do a great job of taking care of our lab pets. They feed them, clean their cages (with my asssistance), they do research on them, making sure their habitat and diet are correct. We have even started growing crops for them to eat (greens, carrots, certain fruits) and insects for them (crickets, silkworms, and superworms). Bearded dragons are easy to maintain. They use the bathroom once a day to once every other day and are funny about wanting their cage cleaned immediately. They are friendly, docile, and inquisitive. They are much friendlier than our gerbil who now lives at my house (biter). Bearded dragons are recommended for reptile beginners. And they are safe for students with allergies. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bubba"</td></tr>
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Our newest reptile is "Forrest Gump" the chameleon. More coming soon on chameleons! They are such interesting critters! Make sure to stop by my <a href="http://www.superlativescience.com/p/lab-pets.html">lab pet page @ Superlative Science</a> to see my other critters! </div>
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Penny Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01603566644336677658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-45216490206127965272012-08-03T22:44:00.000-07:002012-08-03T22:44:06.986-07:00Critters in the Classroom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFhiprWsQb-WcVpNoTnJyUonQfnrqjSqppIK5KkAlCh7AnK0Lv9NHIbydUdfuxWYfp2Sua11Z1661U_XmQP87UoAxMF0H8pDcan5tgFZapLmG9pd9j1wdOV0Xwo12TNVoA4pImrAPUk8n/s1600/Pete+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFhiprWsQb-WcVpNoTnJyUonQfnrqjSqppIK5KkAlCh7AnK0Lv9NHIbydUdfuxWYfp2Sua11Z1661U_XmQP87UoAxMF0H8pDcan5tgFZapLmG9pd9j1wdOV0Xwo12TNVoA4pImrAPUk8n/s400/Pete+1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hey Critter Friends,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You might just have to come on over and grab this freebie to add to your critter area in your classroom. He is so cute you can hardly stand it, right? He is free as free can be! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com/2012/08/encore.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTgb5YkPe2JEIO8_UxpucgFEI-voNbC1LTl465sxBTgYab7iwappq4U0MkpPx6nKJfFIffXqhz5kMciq2v0udU_0Po4m3Ae85k5qAYCsXeMXOLjeHYvqwx3pzXJK-mpfQRYZXidxkrJFP/s1600/LMK+button_150_lmk.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div>Mrs. Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12115187086193068487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-79419120218124778022012-07-09T22:17:00.000-07:002012-07-09T22:17:54.497-07:00Critters In The Classroom!<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgeIbAdQqrc6apFdT1E_gYkrztaPntOh7j2CTKS8ww2m-ER9YNUaIaThi9FtE773UW0AwxqSVWAzki1W8zXRoQKKsrQO0Q6pXw3e-_pGr4m8rUi0UlhjZ4uOtLw-5iUCEu5MNKEJ3W9r9/s1600/Dorothy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgeIbAdQqrc6apFdT1E_gYkrztaPntOh7j2CTKS8ww2m-ER9YNUaIaThi9FtE773UW0AwxqSVWAzki1W8zXRoQKKsrQO0Q6pXw3e-_pGr4m8rUi0UlhjZ4uOtLw-5iUCEu5MNKEJ3W9r9/s200/Dorothy.jpg" width="122" /></a></div><br />
I was pretty determined this year to have some classroom pets. I was also determined to have pets with no fur or feathers. I was fortunate that Petsmart reached out to me and sponsored classroom pets for my class last year. I had so much fun planning and preparing for my classroom pets. I researched all different kinds of pets before making my decision. I wanted the children to be able to learn from these classroom critters but I had to make sure that I could manage the upkeep. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbeskD5JmIu_A54k6cFwZV4X47tyNHEovsAbIJvH6swyDSKjg2lch2yXqhrerOOPTp9XVVJSPl_ARJys3zpmMals2_-DxkFKa8Rjv9newh-S0K4B_17XrAGt9Q9bcvcv5sG-VXdLsPCcz/s1600/Bluebonnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbeskD5JmIu_A54k6cFwZV4X47tyNHEovsAbIJvH6swyDSKjg2lch2yXqhrerOOPTp9XVVJSPl_ARJys3zpmMals2_-DxkFKa8Rjv9newh-S0K4B_17XrAGt9Q9bcvcv5sG-VXdLsPCcz/s320/Bluebonnet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One of the first pets I considered were fish. At first I wanted to be able to have <span style="background-color: white;">more than one</span> but when I went in <span style="background-color: white;">Petsmart,</span> I fell in love with this Betta fish that we called Bluebonnet. I learned that Betta fish primarily live alone. I was a little disappointed to find that out but after a little investigation, I discovered that you can put a mystery snail, sucker fish and a ghost fish with a Betta and I was excited. Our fish tank was small. I think it is a 1.5 gallon tank. It was perfect for a classroom Science center. Bluebonnet did very well in a classroom and each day the children would observe what was going on in the tank and at times we would notebook about it. During our study on plants I found an aquarium plant bulb and I thought it would be a great learning experience to add that to our thriving tank and we could observe and record the growth of the bulb. Unfortunately, the bulb was toxic and Bluebonnet and the others died. We were all pretty sad. I did learn a lesson and I will never try adding plants to a thriving aquarium again. What I can say about my experience is this. The enjoyment this little tank of critters gave us was tremendous. This was a wonderful learning experience for me and my class. The care and maintenance was a breeze and a small tank is perfect for a Kindergarten classroom. I am excited to plan and care for my new fish this year. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you are thinking of pets in the classroom one of the big deciding factors for me was what I was going to do with the pets during the holidays and summer. I am so glad that I really thought long and hard about this before I made my purchase. With all the pets that I had in the classroom, I made sure that I could easily take it home and I made sure I already had a proper place for them when they got there. To be honest, I did not want a snake or lizard hanging around my living room for Christmas... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUuJkltmHej3V3wu77kWVQzYfqEKUkx72XZK9a7kkDkE0-K82rd0vxYnzOqNDYUcCoQDIxC4q-FRja-mUxazaApxFpzhk6zDf05hsbsoDGl5kkDnNu2BZovo-3FvuWCFnNJukiIFNwBGZ/s1600/Mr.+Crab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUuJkltmHej3V3wu77kWVQzYfqEKUkx72XZK9a7kkDkE0-K82rd0vxYnzOqNDYUcCoQDIxC4q-FRja-mUxazaApxFpzhk6zDf05hsbsoDGl5kkDnNu2BZovo-3FvuWCFnNJukiIFNwBGZ/s320/Mr.+Crab.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The second pet I considered were hermit crabs. You will never believe how super simple these were to take care of. My crabs lived in a ten gallon tank. I will admit setting up and purchasing the things to go in the tank was a lot of fun. Hermit crabs are quiet, very inexpensive to set up and care for. Although they are nocturnal, all you have to do is move them around to observe them. My class especially liked to observe them getting their crab bath. We tried a lot of different foods with our crabs and ours seemed to like "crab cookies" and shrimp food the best. Once you have your crab habitat established, there is not much maintenance other than feeding and very occasional cleaning. And the cleaning was super easy. And Kinder kids love crabs! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgeIbAdQqrc6apFdT1E_gYkrztaPntOh7j2CTKS8ww2m-ER9YNUaIaThi9FtE773UW0AwxqSVWAzki1W8zXRoQKKsrQO0Q6pXw3e-_pGr4m8rUi0UlhjZ4uOtLw-5iUCEu5MNKEJ3W9r9/s1600/Dorothy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgeIbAdQqrc6apFdT1E_gYkrztaPntOh7j2CTKS8ww2m-ER9YNUaIaThi9FtE773UW0AwxqSVWAzki1W8zXRoQKKsrQO0Q6pXw3e-_pGr4m8rUi0UlhjZ4uOtLw-5iUCEu5MNKEJ3W9r9/s200/Dorothy.jpg" width="122" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lHEiG6yprJFhqgP3JLUDvOiZngVUNg00g3cFuG1P6XhmPeNaZeuW52IfETL0DyiKIjjuUszEhgBBJRvQQMyTVeFQlj42rQadWDR5tesrc-KqZK_uP8UPb5dUPS7HhcKt_IaAn598Ah7w/s1600/Frog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lHEiG6yprJFhqgP3JLUDvOiZngVUNg00g3cFuG1P6XhmPeNaZeuW52IfETL0DyiKIjjuUszEhgBBJRvQQMyTVeFQlj42rQadWDR5tesrc-KqZK_uP8UPb5dUPS7HhcKt_IaAn598Ah7w/s320/Frog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
And the last pet I considered were Aqua frogs. I found these frogs at my local teacher supply store. I had two frogs in a very small container. These frogs were a lot of fun and super simple to maintain. All we had to do was feed them every few days. The habitat that they come in does not require cleaning but once a year! We did have a casualty with one frog but the other one is thriving. And my frog was super easy to take home with me. During the summer I have had him on my desk. He gets very active when I am near. One of the first nights that he was home for the summer I kept hearing a strange noise and I could not figure out where it was coming from. It sounded like tiny frogs but I never thought the sound would have been coming from MY frog. I never heard him when he was a t school...hmmm wonder why? Every now and then he sings to me when I am at my desk working...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcBqFMW-3s3KH-AyZWj-77dkXEA4kehytWrVa34ymvxi4LrxsLR1vwcmw9vvW1D9uy6AIH6_XHeYOtGXYYcQKIg1XLzpWe6jrjZZHU0MqUozISETTPxNByT_9TLpbiq9riQU7soWDqATM/s1600/Toto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcBqFMW-3s3KH-AyZWj-77dkXEA4kehytWrVa34ymvxi4LrxsLR1vwcmw9vvW1D9uy6AIH6_XHeYOtGXYYcQKIg1XLzpWe6jrjZZHU0MqUozISETTPxNByT_9TLpbiq9riQU7soWDqATM/s200/Toto.jpg" width="135" /></a><br />
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As you can see classroom pets do not have to be feathered or furry to belong in a Kindergarten class. And they do not have to be big to make an impact in a classroom. I love my pets and I would not want to go back to school without them. So, what do you have in your classroom? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.littlemisshypothesis.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo78qURXHcpWr7tozESdpS-sztngWl0C2ahX0BF6vNpOqvsY4-EgAQyHpb_vNRSkQRCoZGBnDla0lb8lQFn0CIQ-TTlT37CPd-5IHOroflkcpNpq63Ei2fjMVp9q6a3MyUg1pozZJXvyFo/s1600/banner_150_lmh.png" /></a></div></div>Mrs. Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12115187086193068487noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-72348378582441684082012-06-26T15:27:00.003-07:002012-06-26T15:27:57.393-07:00Hello Friends! I'm Ashley from <a href="http://www.teacherstreasurechest.blogspot.com/">The Teacher's Treasure Chest</a>!! I wanted to stop in a share something with you. <br />
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My classroom critter is Rocky. He is our beloved pet hermit crab. The students chose the name Rocky, after a class election. We voted on his name, and then graphed the results of the election. The students had so much fun with this! <br />
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Through the year, Rocky was a wonderful classroom critter! He never got out of his home unless we took him out. He was very easy and inexpensive to take care of. He enjoyed spending time with the students. The students really enjoyed taking care of him and working as a team to make sure that Rocky was being cared for properly. Parents really pitched in as well. They often brought supplies, and "toys" for Rocky. Needless to stay our class LOVED Rocky!! <br />
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That's what makes this so hard :( I brought Rocky home for the summer. I wanted him to have a comfortable living environment like he had at school. Without my knowledge, my four year old, brought Rocky outside and put him in our flower beds one day while we were working in the yard. I looked all over for poor Rocky once I realized this. He was no where to be found :( <br />
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I found Rocky's shell today, almost two weeks later. I was pretty sad about it. Not knowing what I would tell my students when they return in the fall. The good news is, that this post made me remember how much joy Rocky brought to our class. At the beginning of the year, I was pretty much against a "Critter" in the classroom. Now I can't imagine my class without one. <br />
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So now I am hooked :) I hope you enjoyed reading about our pet and how we used him in our classroom. Be sure to visit my <a href="http://www.teacherstreasurechest.blogspot.com/">blog</a>!!!<br />
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Thanks!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11833635978330708017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-26112141836952777502012-06-17T18:00:00.000-07:002012-06-17T18:00:08.392-07:00summertime, not what?What do you do with your critters during the summer?<br />Since I no longer have mammals, this year was no sweat! The scorpion was left on a shelf {high shelf beside the tarantula so the cleaning crew won't get scared!}. Heaters plugged in-check!<br />
I normally take the whole community of fish home. It's quite a site. First I fill my backup tank at home and get the filter going a week or so beforehand. Then, back at school, I catch each fish {this takes for.ever}. Place them in a bucket, hook the air home into the wall and put in the bucket til I am absolutely ready to leave, buckle the bucket into the passenger seat, the pour all 10 fish into the tank. But this year I am allowed into the school <i>gasp</i> until the carpet's torn up, so all critters are fed once per week. None of my lovies need daily food or water, so this is really working out.<br />
for the past 3 summers we've housed a tarantula in our kitchen! That's a conversation starter for sure.<br />
I hope everyone is enjoying a little break, and if you're not yet, just think...I have a workshop tomorrow! That's my first official day out of school! yup! They are providing water and chocolate, so I guess I'll let it slide!<br />
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<br />Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-10827864292490683632012-06-16T22:40:00.000-07:002012-06-16T22:40:38.032-07:00Hello Critters!<div align="center"><a href="http://www.littlemisshypothesis.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXchQrZSILwnGQmfrgtDqyVTeAYVZ8HyYQ47bLOxSrtvqxQMY1CLy9Ds0duiDuJhYlw8vQJYIB0rDkgDjBKbbC2396ivymH10ew-V-1KD1XJECa03fvICRczMku8f7mbQFQPYaxjhR650S/s1600/banner_150_lmh.png" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="center">Hello Critters in the Classroom Friends,</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">I have enjoyed following this blog since it started and I have learned a lot about the different critters in the classrooms of the teachers who post their experiences here. I was very excited to be invited to contribute to this blog as well. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43v_gEj5JlcL50ddIbEeJvBtr2pmrkQzehKeBLEFpb2pR3kkFOCb7Ea0Rkpa9NWHCb7ty-N8W9dPdsODEGEOUHx6wqS6J52sbQltDu5L8p8jKtMLgpO4NVFfLcuLJeJ2bMCcc2NrfW8Wv/s1600/LMK+button_150_lmk.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am from the Little Miss Kindergarten blog. And I really wanted a place to be able to feature my true love of Science with young children and all of our critter capers, so I decided to start another blog... Little Miss Hypothesis. This is where I share my Science fun and anything related to critters. I was fortunate enough to have Petsmart sponsor classroom critters for me last year. Last year in my classroom I had fish, snails, crabs, frogs, worms and butterflies. I was determined to have critters that didn't have fur or feathers. We only had the worms and butterflies for a while before we set them free but our fish, snails, frogs and crabs are with us all year! These critters have provided my class with tons of observation opportunities and tons of notebooking opportunities too. I am trying to decide what critters I will add this year. What do you suggest? </div><div align="center"></div>Mrs. Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12115187086193068487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-57175317748709376942012-06-09T16:53:00.002-07:002012-06-09T16:53:08.004-07:00Ants in the Class!<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our science curriculum includes a study on ants. I create a whole ant unit and I am sharing these sample activities with you. Click the pictures below to download the freebies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My entire <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ant-Unit">Ant Unit</a> is available on TpT. Out of all the critters I have had in my classroom, ants are my least favorite. They were really cool to watch, though. Click {<a href="http://www.ericabohrer.blogspot.com/2012/04/ant-trouble.html">here</a>} to read about my ant wrangling adventures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I highly recommend the gel ant farm over the sand one. My only issue with it was that you have to open it every few days to get fresh air into the farm. I have no clue why they did not make air holes, but the gel ant farm was so much easier to get the ants into. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ant-Unit"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuICJZtdK1pVn1Z7T7J0KZwfYVS4tYQJvtnjvFFZcUdUB2fVSitY5yBPhJGpP-sjKN7e2mMl7tXOrFf8qaGrgioxjRqeTk_mjJxEFNxiuB6hVdMMpWnG36Y2bfiynHFXXLNbgoTNGTC7c/s640/Slide1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My very creative co-workers came up with the ideas for ant faces on the bodies and the "If I Were an Ant" writing prompts. One of my students wrote, "If I were an ant, a candle would seem like an inferno." </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ant-Unit"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYK9SkPOQdnprF6ndSQ0_Dbs-Axozz-mgqoilz5T8GZwcEwtkIUD1D_5kj7XZ0sMO4vtjLzVM47FCdvU3bX8rc22L3iJsKseViLlZ3lbYz-c6KlhfrlNZdmgUuslauEZLU9UYviD2q9cX/s640/Slide1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
The page toppers for the "Dear Ant Bully" persuasive letters were inspired by the teachers at <a href="http://peaceloveandkinder.blogspot.com/2012/03/bugs-bugs-bugs.html">Peace, Love, and Kindergarten</a>. I have included the activity and tracers {<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6xV8CyMKUz4eE02WWQzTlFqQmM">here</a>} for free!<br />
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Click the cover below to check out my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ant-Unit">Ant Unit </a>on TpT!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ant-Unit"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVvyv7ElsHXyfJiOj7Vp4hWL6QCFF0M0esH71PoS_FqQic2e24g0NRPCrSy52ATYcnd-_v00DaBvbVK9CajwTCKQwROOjaq2BbMnNzBhVzI-qvBifwE4ZgGx6jNaZmrOMjvyfR9LWS_E_/s400/ant1.png" width="306" /></a></div>
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</div>Erica Bohrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01403749523627389157noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-67799171235941643082012-05-27T09:05:00.001-07:002012-05-27T09:05:44.490-07:00A Quarter “Quail”<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi54NIrjtwOltXVjdrWd9KXwb5QdeVjSFr3b_nXTJVUgM_QMxuhzxyWMSUdo-kmerneLJaNufH_cilxKvK9tLDvq2bRAvI7GmseJbx4f09BlYEUYCHTfulohlN8HeLVHPtaQhC57Sdwt5L/s1600-h/IMG_1042%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1042" border="0" alt="IMG_1042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OkB1S5B6EhQy5skhi-l1iteWibQzdANAhrXn_A59SmAPlElYDLLgnkw58-4u0wKvaIMyHacxfGh6Qx3DbnzwShsFOkP8X233W9GpfTjbplPRAUGc_v8HiZLWWGNmn3hF5hTTjqf0WbFz/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a> <p align="center">See! the size of a quarter!</p> <p>23 days of pure anticipation…for our quail babies to hatch! I was utterly head over heels for these little guys and so were all the kiddos! on May 1st we set 24 quail eggs donated by our local 4H. Hatch Day was Thursday…it came…we waited…saw pipping…went home</p> <p>Came to school Thursday morning and all but 6 had hatched!! We got to experience 2 hatch before 8am! It is absolutely amazing!</p> <p align="center"></p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLRXrc0d5S-yciW_TXtzcrEO-pC-UgYlUlHAgLGIfgPb8NzZ8yMBMe2KeESChsJWEc5skJu8Pu0Q7UOzYeahJFVpspa0YYAODfgNK7aXnHx4jKVlIxMWS_EJ9rty2j-x0bl85N-OcoUNL/s1600-h/IMG_0991%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_0991" border="0" alt="IMG_0991" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdQAknItqpAxZyhWiBYYEPck-k-1IVr5Nr7ddBd9WAmzxRaOmEg6uLnaFMrzmeRHw2dVuKj5hSPr-zOYGC03AUPsVgS46W2WK-qVu8Om64gNM4oOgT-5v3cI8m90l3qBk_EOrLhLUtnOR/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a> <p> </p> <p>They chicks are so small we have to cover the metal with napkins so their little feetsies won’t get stuck!</p> <p>Do you hatch chicks? This was my fist year with quail. We did chickens last year. Loved them, but will request these little guys again next year! So clean, so absolutely presh! They have already been whicked away to our local park to repopulate the population there. They are in a special cage for the next 6 weeks, then they run free! It’s funny to go out and run and see quail waltzing around!</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYuMphKKPerltbwN0ZmkmCATR2WbS2zSO4WJmrTBUPOhT_wllj64AtUJDaq1PfrSRvCUhn-UXzlv13GV91AY_I195Pa4HOHKhDkTsykNDKiIKhpV2DwzZGsHWcYJQxRqvthRq-YsUemHw/s1600-h/IMG_1052%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1052" border="0" alt="IMG_1052" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6qYiMZLcPmv47dN8sRb_snTvwYSgYuXS6zmn-vqrgHt8pUpb65oL2cPqlAMPsirM2jWCVX8gM1UOcBhM-HC2l2RGVOxb41KFQk89JCifViSEzQOdBQ37IGPlTZPcluAiNNGpjluKJ2yS/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoNglDLscEtkDqeazRwcn602D9p6hPfoGIzl9jOgU0tPcDQ73vTadPRrBvp6sy3am8ZvYPIlgI4EJ4SNZPE3RRlWiWvSfevct_4Qas7CHCPkjfhWlw_ihA7xjUsWoLLpkitIGkz9D2kqc/s1600-h/IMG_1051%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1051" border="0" alt="IMG_1051" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86kFY4RuB74yhSWnIlADKZdQczl22fJPKHfbWIjYOtmC2DHeAH3wK3GLOwKfSXXqGrhLDGUgwQdJF9W_MKfMMuI_sWEdr4kzYne-4CvQ3Owpg7LvkFce4LCAlRyRoUdc96L_-8_SmhDn_/?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244" /></a></p> <p>here’s 6 in my teammies hands and me trying to hold all 20! </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDES2334UmRSF9ywUjM7FfrXSLuESQvBR28xuTKuqqZnuyDeLAjLZ8Xeh7v4GgSc2y-MOiJwj1rs3DF3KtbLjzdAeQUAQKVyApAZD296x80aHeOdTllwr1RijQWryl1aE56yOHPP6Ep1X/s1600-h/IMG_1045%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1045" border="0" alt="IMG_1045" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgequwhadVZwURB_3QrRE7VrXKTLIUO88Hh1FonsSHjITgCbo-UoHDU4ArkguSXb0ucCj20rV55KXOlzsFZ9Ko0shcgAFFKRz-CVccBOH4eFooyUkXXNog44P_OU8Jo_8nrbPg3bHIoOxg1/?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244" /></a>  </p> <p>Sweet sorrow…having to say goodbye. Yes, there were some tears</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIzTHe-Ah3z5j3rFx4q_hhgcBcglYqUDPll4qnsL684zU_IyM3PjdT_SPbC_PKOVWZLo4vdrjTAjxLYSUOqPK816xwumHWHW2-X66ihHEZr2Qwb7TcevsDbvP45HdTjPM3Nj0bzlp8X6A/s1600-h/IMG_1023%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1023" border="0" alt="IMG_1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemfCeiXyCvzoMySgcf1kZ40qxU0eWS1GDao-cgNtAvVTts0vWfVvXBQgM_DBENFSkAofgJQEmOmgjwjguEv7pA5fkPXcC_HPvENjLD8X-YGxh6hywDL3evY1QvQQVBLwQe4V1AJOFeq-O/?imgmax=800" width="183" height="244" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_O16eEyNKgfKUzen50o7AXyPoCu40XEIIiL-RhRAUev0Z7G-AilG5Azzl7k9lCfzSfCA7gt1nSpVokdxWfDArGgPlxKXsEK12REkKADm8IwS02iNw4WMzsFvJxfbA60OLq9gnjh8yTqm/s1600-h/IMG_1024%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1024" border="0" alt="IMG_1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KOLRfI5BdsAQbvjPbcEuvAxj74vXCKet_WuX4flrEthW4WgaNZmtgGlgj6fUdtVYAcue2o1JBbO_1RE6T2LWpj-TyEXPxGRc5zguh-AKKJIc6tAy8ZmFAUJB0PlzkKCTb_b2I_vAOqmH/?imgmax=800" width="183" height="244" /></a></p> <p>I had ordered postcards from Vistaprint to serve as birth announcements to deliver to all the other classes. </p> <p>Each student also got a Proud Chickie Parent sticker to wear! </p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqna2ZJuSdpODX6Y9LtIe7LPScya5gu7vE9ERitm9sRHCWOH4ICVJW0ANn59Jr5quKAsgE4RbDtkPddeBKHx_wO6I_YTxf1u4gnbwCmgIojwxys9xmRooJsu_XPjSw3QIuoNfRL2mfGq4c/s1600-h/IMG_1015%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1015" border="0" alt="IMG_1015" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQ-DwRiIsyTftP7n0agKgYg1FNk92sH20GgJiDK8zrr7Qgo9DFQvH-MqFuJ5yBz9to9DeOVkaEBRrs0s5vRk9vhJne5wKdleMqT5sv2r0juibgpL-rgONcXdNEB65JE80L1QvhAt9ng9w/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hIKBHqwv0Uc/T8JQz9NZCNI/AAAAAAAADMk/bAH1Nt_1Ir4/s1600-h/IMG_1014%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1014" border="0" alt="IMG_1014" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DttO3N3yvAQ/T8JQ0d-2sYI/AAAAAAAADMs/L1HNxtU0myU/IMG_1014_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_7fpIOJTGENHHCXBKRAqf16IiaGmkVLpP3F3P_-T_cqJvJTTsL0GIVTF6erSWkR_HRlwF48PqCQHcs9RF2YzKSuMQy5N8o-rTSZGsOmpQXUhNil_9wt5RDTYIZtk4Vcbjv2bjnRtq41h/s1600-h/IMG_1012%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1012" border="0" alt="IMG_1012" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eiyCLaCuGqxpKFnoSG2_X4WhYEcApHB6lPSgXP9C_v-_lzPAIbTW650LaEUg8FPuwErHCMWGdoYO514f8a4CXoXtlYHi8C8PHyvv9AYCzGPKa31_DVosxxZ5ZIAYb6MR7evNF6JCwt7B/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a></p> <p align="left">This program is specifically for our 2nd grade to study a full life cycle. We also use mealworms, painted ladies, and will add crickets next year! </p> <p align="left">If you are interested in hatching, contact your local university or 4H. <a href="http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/4h/embryology/embryology.html">Our 4-H teams up with NC State University</a>. Many have programs {and for free} for young students to learn about embryology.</p> <p align="left">Happy Hatching! <br /><a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="button" border="0" alt="button" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqBfaUtQk-9DfJ7ruBwJADnbfvAf0FnjRuAKyfl2Y76fpbHBIZMfh0dwgLMI8YrjP6DjJlZOnMesNtM5SdNMFgtuHzO9afY_vFvzrYPPdr1now5sgqJ-uweDohFhmnSMc4-dQXtWCfkuR/?imgmax=800" width="125" height="125" /></a></p> <p align="left">Rachel</p> Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-69134802432711952672012-05-22T18:21:00.001-07:002012-05-22T18:22:49.173-07:00So long for the summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi fellow educational animal lovers! I had to share what has been going on with Mr. Weasley at the end of the year. One of my sweeties was afraid he would get lonely, so he brought him a little play pal. Several other students have followed his lead and have brought stuffed animals too. We keep them all on the top of his cage so they can watch over him (See top picture:)). The bottom picture is of Mr. Weasley and his favorite new friend. I thought this was just too sweet not to share! Do you do anything to help your students say good-bye to your class pet?<br />
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<a href="http://1stgradewithmisssnowden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7LVCr_nhyXV8earQ1q4QyVdOl_B2xy86-27ukY2JKfcm_7Z5tYcB3Evr0_uALgObHG2UCRPjm6DDoOeIzkKEa5ifH6jecprzJge3mKiwp4ILWLXyWnX5Hyu-6ftf-gqAU1U6HzNVm-_z/s1600/th_snowdenbuttonnew.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Jena Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715050629984387996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-20471876287426130062012-05-14T13:40:00.002-07:002012-05-16T05:17:50.580-07:00Butterflies in Preschool<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERIjcVDwozNZBo9jLG_9T_cLVbgDV4vQECyvl6a2jHGVP52-Ec0qzR1lcabsmPgg1Ew17elGygIwe1byR_6hifnWOFxIEQXA2XCu4ruAuCY1eGiSgyLMT0WoEDtxLBG28s3Y5wHLdd1o/s1600/Butterly.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERIjcVDwozNZBo9jLG_9T_cLVbgDV4vQECyvl6a2jHGVP52-Ec0qzR1lcabsmPgg1Ew17elGygIwe1byR_6hifnWOFxIEQXA2XCu4ruAuCY1eGiSgyLMT0WoEDtxLBG28s3Y5wHLdd1o/s1600/Butterly.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERIjcVDwozNZBo9jLG_9T_cLVbgDV4vQECyvl6a2jHGVP52-Ec0qzR1lcabsmPgg1Ew17elGygIwe1byR_6hifnWOFxIEQXA2XCu4ruAuCY1eGiSgyLMT0WoEDtxLBG28s3Y5wHLdd1o/s1600/Butterly.PNG" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">My two granddaughters are in preschool and of course,
everything is new and exciting to them. They came home one day with egg carton
caterpillars. I know most of us have made one of these in our lifetime, but to
these two little girls, they were the best craft ever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">They told me that Mrs. Madison was raising flutterbies (butterflies) in their classroom, and
soon they would hatch. Anticipation and excitement reigned until the day they
came out of school telling everyone that one of the butterflies had hatched.
However, much to their chagrin, Mrs. Madison was going to let it go. They just
couldn't understand why or how their teacher could do that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">B</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ut,
here is the good part! The girls made a cocoon out of a toilet paper
cylinder by covering it with white cotton balls. Then the made a
butterfly out of tissue paper and a small plastic bag tie. They put the
butterfly inside the cocoon and then pretended to have the butterfly hatch!
This was done over and over and over until the cocoon was no more. Luckily, I
was able to get pictures before both were literally destroyed</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, what does all of this have to
do with <strong><em>Critters in the Classroom</em></strong>? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, based on a blog,
</span><a href="http://flapjackeducationalresources.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Flapjack Products</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>,</strong> there are numerous ways to use recycled products to make
items. Discover <span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">how to take old discarded materials and make them into
new, useful, inexpensive products or tools for your classroom in a resource called </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Trash to Treasure</strong></span><span style="color: black;">. It</span> features clever ideas,
fun and engaging mini-lessons as well as cute and easy to construct crafts all
made from recycled or common, everyday items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And by reusing items, you are helping to reduce the amount that goes into landfills and possibly save the habitats of animals!
</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You can download
a free eight page version of </span></span><strong><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Trash-to-Treasure-FREE-Activities-Lessons-Using-Recycled-Items">Trash to Treasure</a></span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> by clicking here.</span></span><br />
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<br />Scipihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04540662041195568946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-65112350542462844942012-04-28T13:20:00.002-07:002012-04-28T13:20:15.075-07:00Keeping track of food,...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMR8PWEdaims842aHDXytvuHTsrwFpHkx9RFe7bPkD4tsRHr-STP_98w40iLZM-v7651cdxSS7Lb-RkxBZ1ALDG0E7_r4w-19ORIDmsf3itbMjGQDugldD8gARywVGRmv_JONNUU0XaPNP/s1600/LogoColorTextBelow.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMR8PWEdaims842aHDXytvuHTsrwFpHkx9RFe7bPkD4tsRHr-STP_98w40iLZM-v7651cdxSS7Lb-RkxBZ1ALDG0E7_r4w-19ORIDmsf3itbMjGQDugldD8gARywVGRmv_JONNUU0XaPNP/s1600/LogoColorTextBelow.jpeg" /></a>Hi ya'll ....Leslie from Science Gal here. <br />
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Just wanted to share with you something my students came up with recently...a way to keep track of how much Squirtle was being fed. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0iZgXoSnnBTOMwHCN3RuR1MQzBx_P088FcsnnOyygqShTVqTbJeq2I_EX9C1jb9Pg4NeBhUHgs5_l81EXo_iZVUQO0hRzKF8Bljxkvp7TMvB7srmm7YVVZbgXoANNtBR8K_V5agqktQ/s1600/167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0iZgXoSnnBTOMwHCN3RuR1MQzBx_P088FcsnnOyygqShTVqTbJeq2I_EX9C1jb9Pg4NeBhUHgs5_l81EXo_iZVUQO0hRzKF8Bljxkvp7TMvB7srmm7YVVZbgXoANNtBR8K_V5agqktQ/s320/167.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Hmmm....let me back track a bit. One day last week, one of my students noticed that Squirtle was shedding a bit on his neck. He asked me why and naturally, I had no clue...so he googled it. (By the way is google a verb now?) <br />
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He found out that it could be happening because we were feeding Squirtle too much protein. Again, let me back track....when we first got Squritle in January the turtle went into hibernation b/c my classroom was so cold. (yes, it is true...) He didn't eat for the first two months I had him... Then with the help of our maintenance worker and water specialist, we moved him from a dry tank to a wet tank. Guess what? Squirtle woke up! Tom also suggested that we feed him worms...as Squirtle kept turning up his nose at fish and shrimp that the pet store had recommended. He loved them...once he started eating, we started feeding him A LOT....<br />
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Each morning the kids would clamor to feed him and we did...in fact, I think we overfed him! I started having the students go outside in the morning and dig for earthworms for free food...there are several children who absolutely love this! Squirtle also decided that he liked the shrimp (finally) as well as some turtle treats that I picked up at the store.<br />
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But after we googled the shedding incident, we decided we needed to have a system. The students and I talked about it and came up with this:<br />
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Now, every time we feed him we write it on the board. We have streamlined it to mornings only and are noticing a happy turtle...and the shedding??? Hopefully this will help us out too!<br />
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<a href="http://www.sciencegal-sciencegal.blogspot.com/">www.sciencegal-sciencegal.blogspot.com</a></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-56971159832746892222012-04-07T07:02:00.001-07:002012-04-07T08:19:36.810-07:00Arachnids Need Lovin’ Too<div align="left">
Hi fellow animal lovers. This is Rachel from <a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/">Views From Room 205</a>, and I teach 2nd grade in little ol’ NC. </div>
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<a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/"><img alt="button-with-border" border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-obPq1Ru-qf_i5FHa6icoILFs9XnS_M1kbnneS2davkgLmgVJgXEzTgM5Mo1rK5TxztlRFR6fRv0f2cFLlrx6T6ttqYq37eJEf_hy_6OppOH_JV4uDSMiJo-pO9JQObqskQcDOvOmaUP/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="button-with-border" width="244" /></a></div>
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We have some odd choices for class pets in our class and I can’t wait to begin sharing about the critters and kiddos on the blog!</div>
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A few weeks ago in guided reading my Leaning Tower of Pisa group {yep…we are named for amazing landmarks!} was reading about Arachnids and Insects. They were fascinated with the scorpions..and frankly, so was I. <br />
Enter Sunday <br />
Usual trip through Petco <br />
and I came home with an Emperor Scorpion! <br />
Now, I swore off mammals in the classroom after Wicket {<a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/2012/04/little-bunny-boo-boo.html">my Mini Lop rabbit</a>} <br />
just too much upkeep for 2nd graders <br />
too much touching temptations <br />
<strike>I</strike> We already have Harriet {a male tarantula we think…} <br />
and lots of fish in a 20 gallon aquarium <br />
And we have 2 Hissing Cockroaches…after an old teammate’s had babies <br />
fyi-They are wonderful classroom pets! <br />
{<a href="http://www.catawbaschools.net/schools/Oxford/staff/Rachel_Lamb/Web%20Page%20Library/Critters.aspx">you can check out our critters here</a>} <br />
The kids <em>LOVE</em> them and can do all the work! They really take it seriously <br />
So what’s one more arachnid?? <br />
I brought him to school Monday morning and they were so absolutely excited! <br />
What’s it’s name? <em>Not sure yet, but I like Virgo</em>…we like “April”…<em>oh geez, no</em> <br />
Will it kill me if I touch it? <em>Would I buy something for school that could kill you…really…? </em>Can we touch it? <em>No, I am not going to touch it and you’re not going to touch it…See those pinchers?</em></div>
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<strong>The Lowdown:</strong></div>
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The bigger the scorpion, the less venom <br />
Emperor Scorpions, much like Harriet, only cause irritation, not death! <br />
He/She {thinking she…} eats crickets! yay! Just like Harriet, too </div>
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Meet Emperor Palpatine <br />
{and yes, my own boys have a Stars Wars thing going on, hence the pet names!}:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWRUsJMMJXRf2qcarQ29bcpX1Y6xv8B8ZFJG24hD8zO6TodF2N0dG7jUfbl81XxPWYs1ZKvORhSAnA-5fABf53wr4Kd9DN1UIv_Sl3AUviX08J6d_f5sif8aHjj3VYPCC1zs7OKnN2Jb7/s1600-h/IMG_02925.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0292" border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAk-Hl3uF2G6_fiNHmZKYeUosaoglH0kciqsgq5i9MdSbpIfwQ_aZQEoe1wy8djkWrdo8vZ-KKdsL7Ab2xiis5oUfayKgo0MsU2EbTNsfbabRmO2Y1EkAuql1P8AuZpVlQYxFhm6w6DZRH/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0292" width="277" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcMeqg4obGXqIjQPTY2Adaxq5QIH0hfA9XAQmeJ5OlDbnVZCUb-mdFtDO6WGCsRp3N1VlpEkL_vKdItlZ3pUFYadxrqSOMDyf_vPduKT3XI8PN8D_1fX-S5iWkerLJBi3sadMSrl7fHQr/s1600-h/IMG_02914.jpg"><img alt="IMG_0291" border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8IbI3JiKj8QJF6KOIRG9XxsBC9f14oT6WQfkew5slaM7vMyeZ3UeRGYzVfC03UlPZfMPrBMEpkdjUBzXAeam_wYAPc1ERzL6-F2_Ds3LGfzguo5zveE0iUZQVOySrMxRf_1I79FfqMQr/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0291" width="277" /></a></div>
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Here’s where it hides out. Feeding time comes every other day.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The setup:</span></h1>
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20 gallon aquarium <br />
hiding rock from Petco-about $7 <br />
shallow water dish from Petco in the crab section-$6 <br />
small <a href="http://www.petco.com/product/111886/Zilla-Under-Tank-Reptile-Heaters.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductListTopRated_Reptile_4-_-Zilla%20Under%20Tank%20Reptile%20Heaters-111886">Zilla</a> brand heater <br />
and I love <a href="http://www.petco.com/product/104906/Zoo-Med-Eco-Earth-Loose-Coconut-Fiber-Substrate.aspx?CoreCat=MM_ReptileSupplies_Substrates">Zoo Med Eco-Earth coconut fiber substrate</a>. I use a mix of this and the Zoo Med bark in the tarantula cage too. <br />
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And just for fun, we have to do some more research. How many kids of mine do you think checked out books about scorpions from the library Monday? Four…because that’s all the library has! Isn't inspiration and excitement what this is totally about!?</div>
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I have a little Venn freebie here. Click the picture</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3xZyhRdTCWtYTU2NmZiMjAtODYyNy00OWJlLTg3MzctMjE5NGFlNzRhNmEy"><img alt="viewer" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRMV3qwc5nOW_iqNPE0tyJT_Dfn023ITPeWvPzudsddxMBcbn4p3D2w8YhyphenhyphenwGSdSZ8a2B894OTPgueupsUY6lOssVj9RzUlCcGQIfbW2r73nXeWCep0WSztrxqo_olGRSOD5V9mu7eDnL/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="viewer" width="535" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_SbB6A2qtJX7PKEJEl15ikzoBT56lt8GWTNtBstztkBEx59uip4qRpocdM18I-U_UYAvkbhIBekdgG-tgg-LLFHx1jYPXm0Qlq7JMlSsnWrLcEefHmIwePM-mRhU8gd222-C3IVIIvQB/s1600-h/signature2.png"><img alt="signature" border="0" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFsEShTXEwwuUj1TrQ24tKe9wS5on-U2OiOGKQw_nVRPlpENNKBPtCDd3ao8NhGp_bFwk7RivJgx25MvESRt1AJ2H1N104Qjbhz47lpUbNnR-sFSWqEIjmiieOGE_gOpCA6WlMrA_Ka50m/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="signature" width="193" /></a></div>Rachel Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11163039671169857119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7910244214896281446.post-40183319930219703592012-04-01T16:38:00.001-07:002012-04-07T08:20:30.952-07:00Great Pet Bedding<div style="text-align: center;">
Hi there! This is Deedee from</div>
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<center><a href="http://mrswillskindergarten.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/caralesley/DeedeeWillsButton-2.jpg" /></a></center><center><br /></center><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
and I wanted to share with you my absolute favorite pet bedding.</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ccenter%3E%3Ca%20href=%22http://mrswillskindergarten.blogspot.com/%22%3E%3Cimg%20border=%220%22%20src=%22http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e62/caralesley/DeedeeWillsButton-2.jpg%22/%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/center%3E"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIp15ntZsPb_xZNq1CALHsaphJEP2_nuor0BZtcC_gt9xAIQREimNF1ke4MLc1vDwtmCLmaHQnThpjCFECncnTjXNCW6Lgu46RBGTPD6MKwh744znQWm0lFnQkxWLovox4waDuuOnndo/s1600/eco+bedding.jpg" /></a></div>
<center><br /></center><center>This stuff is the best for Miss Theodora (my guinea pig). It keeps her cage nice and tidy. More importantly, it keeps odor away (unless she eats celery...that is a whole other issue).</center><center><br /></center><center>I have been using this for the last few years and I would never go back to shavings!</center><center><br /></center><center>Happy Sunday!</center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1