Friday, June 17th, 2022

A classroom full of entomologists!  

Entomology is the study of insects and their relationship to humans, the environment, and other organisms.

After participating in City of Calgary Mayors Expo presentation "Bee Friendly", students delved into an inquiry to learn about bee life cycle, how they are helpful and harmful in our environment, bee anatomy and what actions each of us can take to support bees and bee habitats.  We were so fortunate to have special guests from Mrs. Melindy's Grade 1 classroom. They shared their bee houses, and taught us more about solitary bees. 

Did you know that there are many ways to help our native bees and honey bees thrive in our community!

1. Create habitat in your own back yard to help to feed pollinators and provide homes for native bees.  

Check out some resources from Bee City Canada that will help you design a pollinator garden that bees will love!

Alberta Native Plant Council Native Plant List

2. Provide homes for solitary bees by clearing away mulch in spots in your plant/flower beds so bees can burrow into the soil. Learn how to build a DIY bee bath or bee hotel using bamboo and compost!

3. Want a project that includes the kids? Here is a video on how to Build a Beehouse for younger children. 

It has been an amazing few weeks of learning and deep inquiry in our classroom. Students have been acting as entomologists to observe the lifecycle of a Painted Lady Butterfly. Students did not know the species until it was revealed yesterday. They used deductive reasoning skills throughout its metamorphosis to come to the conclusion. This included making comparisons to different species of caterpillars and making comparisons to the cocoons of a moth and the chrysalis of a butterfly. 

Our caterpillars crawling all over Mrs. Morden's teacher table. 

The chrysalis. Ask your child what changes go on inside the chrysalis- nature is fascinating! 

Students making comparisons and justifying their predictions using provided scientific resources.

The Painted Lady Butterflies were released today in the LBS school garden, they loved the lilac bushes!

On Monday we watched Calgary Public Library presentation: Watched Napi’s and the Wolves puppet show. Students are invited to sign up for the CPL's Ultimate Summer Challenge to encourage reading throughout the summer! 

https://calgarylibrary.ca/events-and-programs/ultimate-summer-challenge/ 

Next week we will continue our learning around the Indigenous Ways of Knowing in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day through storytelling, learning about plants and medicines, and spending time connecting to the land through sit spot and walk alongsides. We will be going on a Walking Field Trip June 21st. 

We know that all students have embraced the study of entomology as evident when we go outside for physical education and outdoor learning time students are actively noticing small crawling and flying animals in their environment. 

Have a wonderful weekend!