Cocoon Vs. Chrysalis

A friend of mine pointed out that our butterflies are actually in their chrysalises (or chrysalides), and not in cocoons. I looked it up, and sure enough, she was right! Butterflies actually don't spin cocoons, but shed their skin for a last time and then harden into the chrysalis. Moths are the ones who spin a silk cocoon with their spinnerets similar to the way a spider spins its web. So, a butterfly has a chrysalis, which is a hard shell, and a moth has a cocoon, which is a soft spun enclosure. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was WRONG! :-)

The First Cocoons

The caterpillars are going into their cocoons. Two of them have a shell on them now. It's interesting because we've seen videos of caterpillars actively spinning their cocoons, but these ones seem to just grow this outer layer without doing anything. One of them didn't make it up to the top of the container as he was supposed to before going into the pupa stage, so he lies sleeping on the floor. Here's what they look like now:

And a closer look:

1st Grade: Week 2 Highlights

Things are going along quite well. This week Rupert wrote his Sunday School teacher a thank you note since this coming Sunday will be his last day in her class. He will be in the first grade class the following week.

We slowed down a bit in math to be sure that Rupert gets his addition facts down cold. He likes math and understands the concept of addition, we just need to work on memorizing those facts so he can spit them out in a split second. I think taking a little extra time here will really benefit him in the end.

Phonics is Rupert's least favorite subject. I'm not exactly sure why. I think he gets a little overwhelmed when he sees many words on a page and knows he as to read them ALL. To make it more fun for him, I had him act out the sentences we was reading, and although that took longer, he had more fun with it.

Grammar and Writing are going along well. So far I really like the materials I've chosen to use with him. He is learning about nouns and proper nouns, capitalization and punctuation, and practicing his listening and narration skills. He has also memorized a poem.

We talked about habitats in science this week and we made a diorama of a desert habitat. Rupert chose to add cacti, a camel and a rattlesnake to his habitat diorama. I think it came out cute.

In history, we learned about the Nomads and how they eventually became farmers. After learning all about them, we pretended to be Nomads, moving our tent from place to place in search of food. We found berries and hunted wild animals (AKA the family cat) to eat. Finally we settled in the "Fertile Crescent" and learned to farm. Rupert really enjoyed this little game, and I know that playing it really set the things we learned this week in his mind.

Fat Caterpillars

I think our caterpillars are just about ready to go into their pupa stage. They are nice and fat and are migrating toward the top of their container. They should be making their cocoons soon. Do you see what messy eaters they are? Their food is splattered all over the sides of the container! :-)

Our Caterpillars Are Here!!

It has been a couple of years since we raised butterflies in pre-school, and I thought it would be fun to do it again. We received our caterpillars in the mail on Friday. They were quite a bit smaller this time than they were when we got them last time, but they have grown quite a bit since Friday! So, we'll be studying butterflies for the next couple of weeks in Biology, and I'll be posting updates and photos as we go along.

Our First Week of First Grade

Rupert and I were both very excited to start first grade this week! We had a bit of a light first week to kind of ease into it. We did each of our subjects at least once and, so far, I'm happy with all our materials. Here are some of the highlights:

Spelling: We started doing spelling for the very first time, and Rupert aced the pre-test for the 1st grade spelling list #1...so we took the rest of the week off from spelling. If this continues, we'll need to make adjustments and move up to lists that are more challenging. But for now, I'm okay with him riding the wave of spelling success.

Math: We're cruising right along through the Math-U-See Foundations book. I'm very happy with Rupert's understanding of place value to the hundreds place. He seems to have grasped the concept quite easily and well. We have started on single digit addition, and will continue that next week.

History: We learned what history is, who historians are, and who archaeologists are and what they do. We also did our own archaeological dig in our backyard. Here are a few pictures of that activity and the things we excavated:

Tired of "G"

No, no, no, I'm not tired of my boy. I'm just tired of calling him "G" here on my blog. I've decided that as of today, the first day of the 1st grade, I'll refer to my son as "Rupert". It's a fun little nickname that evolved soon after he was born and we've been using it ever since. Sorry for any confusion, but from here on out, Rupert it is!

Homeschooling Stats

Here are the latest, most accurate results regarding the standardized test scores of the home schooled vs. the public schooled.

Hooray For Books on Tape!!

We have been enjoying listening to books on tape while we are in the car. G has been really interested in the stories and seems to follow them quite well now. We have recently listened to The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, and Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. As soon as we finished listening to each of these stories, G would shout, "Do it again!" So, I've let him listen to them again in his room at bedtime. He loves them so much that he actually stays awake for 2-3 hours after going to bed, just so he can listen to his stories. I am so excited that he is enjoying the books on tape so much!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I LOVE our library!!!