I Am

We released our butterflies and hope that they are surviving their long trip to Mexico.   As a class, we have been writing I Am poems.  Each line of their poems begins with "I."  Students practice personification with this poem as they imagine that they are the thing that they write about.  Based on themes from our backyard we have written I Am Autumn, I Am Leaf and I Am Butterfly.  Students chose their favorite poem and I have written them for you below.

I Am Autumn

By Cameron

I see kids play on the ground

I see them playing all around

I hear kids laughing a lot

I wonder where the kids are . . . are they at home or at school?

I feel the wind going through my leaves

I smell my leaves here and there

I think kinds are coming back

I am Autumn

I Am Butterfly

By Genevieve

I dream of what it is like in Mexico

I taste the pollen in flowers

I feel the cool breeze that flows on me

I think of all of my cousin butterflies that are going to Mexico

I wonder what would happen if I were the last of my kind

I am Butterfly

I Am Butterfly

By Emily

I wonder what kind of journey I will go on today

I taste the morning breeze

I imagine that it's sunny not storming

I touch the leaves when I fly by

I smell apple pie

I dream of being a superhero someday

I wonder what it would be like as a person

I am Butterfly

I Am Butterfly

By Jeremiah

I feel the wind on my wings

I like the nectar in the flowers

 I smell the sweet nectar in the flowers

I imagine if I went into the forest and almost eaten

I hear the birds chirping in the sky

I am Butterfly

I Am Leaf

By Kaiden

I am leaf lying down on a birch tree's branches

I imagine the kids playing on my branches that hold me

I love to dance in the wind when I blow away

I hope the kids never grow bigger

I am Leaf!

I Am Leaf

By Zander

I hear the kids crunching on me

I feel the beautiful autumn breeze

I smell the apple pie in the window

I dream of being a human

I see the kids outside

I see other kids on my tree friends

I wonder how nice the kids are

I am Leaf

I Am Butterfly

By Mikayla

I don't like people touching my wings

I fly to Mexico

I dance in the wind as it starts to get cold

I am a Monarch

I am in my chrysalis in a ball

I am ready for my new life

I am Butterfly

I Am Fish

By Amelia

I am fish swimming in the sea

I wonder if you can see me

I see frogs swimming right next to me

I wave to them with lots of glee

I do not know their history

I see them swimming right away from me

I don't know why this always happens to me

I have to go find my mommy

bye-bye

I am Fish

I Am Butterfly

By Sydnee

I dream about pretty flowers

I feel free

I hear the sound of music

I imagine me as a peaceful butterfly

I see a new born butterfly

I smell the flowers and oranges

I taste the wind

I think about me when I was a caterpillar

I touch the sky

I wonder what Mexico looks like

I Am Butterfly

I Am Autumn

By Zayne

I am the geese that the wind brushes against me

I am the grass that wonders why I'm dry

I am the trees that smell the wind

I am the leaves that think, when will I fall off?

I am the crickets that see the trees moving

I am the flowers that hear winter coming

I am Autumn

I Am Autumn

By Aliya

I feel the cold wind right in my face.

I wonder when the kids are going to come and play

I smell grass all around me

I think all my leaves are changing colors right now

I see lots of pumpkins and bugs and trees

I hear a lot of crickets

I am Autumn!

I Am Leaf

By Mayson

I am the thing that you see when you look up in the air when a tree is standing there

I hear all the leaves saying "bye-bye"

I see the children playing

I feel the breeze . . . ahhh . . . I am falling

I am Leaf

I Am Butterfly

By Juliana

I am the butterfly that goes to Mexico

I am the butterfly that you see sometimes

I am the butterfly that lands on tulips and daisies

I am the butterfly that lands on kids' fingers

I am the Monarch butterfly

I am the one who tastes nectar on flowers

I am Butterfly

I Am Autumn

By Seth

I feel the warmth going through me

I wonder when the kids will come out to play

I smell the grass

I see geese flying South

I hear it's Autumn

I am Autumn

I Am Butterfly

By Lyndsee

I smell the food in the country of Mexico

I see my friends flying close to me

I feel the cool breeze through my wings

I hear the birds chirping

I taste the flowers in Mexico

I am Butterfly

I Am Butterfly

By Gary

I smell bunches of nectar

I feel the flower touching my tongue

I touch other animals

I imagine how I can fly

I think of other butterflies

I taste other nectar and food

I dream of going to Mexico in the winter

I wonder what it would be like being a person

I am Butterfly

I am Autumn

By Faith

I see children playing

I hear them laughing and talking

I wonder when they will come back and play

I think soon

I feel cold and happy

I smell the leaves of autumn

I am Autumn

I Am Butterfly

By Zackary

I smell sweet nectar

I taste the nectar

I touch a flower

I imagine flowers with nectar all over me

I think winter's coming

I wonder where are my brothers and sisters?

I feel a new life coming

I am Butterfly

I Am Autumn

By Shyann

I hear birds

I see trees

I think water is ice cold

I smell flowers

I feel food

I am Autumn

I Am Butterfly

By Makaelee

I am butterfly

I shimmer with colors of the rainbow

I feel the sun beating down on my beautiful wings

I see the bees working hard

I dream of what the prettiest butterfly would look like

I am Butterfly

I Am Butterfly

By Makenzie

I wonder when I can see my new life

I see my friend has hatched out of the chrysalis

I smell wonderful nectar coming off a butterfly bush

I dream that i will see a new world out there

I taste really good nectar

I touched a person's finger

I am a Monarch butterfly

I feel the wind hiding me

I think my friend is going to hatch soon

I imagine that I will be good to each and every butterfly when I get out of the chrysalis

I see a new life coming

I like to fly to Mexico because when it gets cold at Michigan I go to Mexico

I am Butterfly

I Am Leaf

By Abigail

I am leaf

I am blown around so many ways it makes me dizzy

I wish I was a kid then I would not bet blown around

I am stuck up in this old wrinkled tree

I am an old Leaf

I Am Butterfly

By Phillip

I fly south for the winter

I drink nectar from plants

I see pollen on my leg

I have a tube as a mouth

I have poison in me

I have colored wings

I am Butterfly

 

A Backyard Gift

Meet my newly hatched monarch friend!  Last Saturday, I stopped by the classroom to feed our frogs and toads (all gifts from our backyard).  We also had three monarch chrysalises (given to us by a friend of the class).  They had all turned dark and translucent and I knew they would be out soon.  I stopped back on Sunday and found three amazing butterflies.  We missed the coming out, but it was great to see them all healthy and flying.  We brought in all sorts of flowering plants from our backyard and made large bouquets, hoping that they would find nourishment.  (I also set out sponges with hummingbird nectar although I never saw them feed on them.)  We let them fly about our room for three days before freeing them.  We have so many questions . . . Where are they going?  What do they eat? (They did seem to like our ragweed bouquet, although I wasn't nearly as fond of it.)  Do they sleep?   How long does it take to go from a caterpillar to a butterfly?  We hope to find out more about these insects in the days ahead.  But one thing we all learned is that monarchs are amazing.  And since their release, students have kept a keen eye out for monarchs in the wild and on the soccer fields.  I do believe that, after watching them flutter through our room this week, we all hold a special place in our hearts for thess creatures of beauty and grace. 

The First Week of School and the Coming of Autumn

Liberty Hyde Bailey believed that building a connection to nature is the first step to understanding and learning about nature.  He  thought that students needed to be learning, working and observing outside in the fields and woods of their own communities.  He knew that hands-on experience was critically important to developing knowledge.  Teachers today talk about "multiple intelligences" and "developmentally appropriate" curriculum.  Liberty Hyde Bailey used different vocabulary but he was saying the very same thing, a hundred years ago.  I guess anyone who loves to teach and loves to learn, knows that the first step to learning is developing an interest and a connection.  It's all about making things meaningful.  As we work on developing the Liberty Hyde Bailey Interpretive Garden Path, we hope to make a place for students to learn about and experience nature in our own backyard.  


Last Thursday, my class and I went outside for our daily run around the soccer field.  A large flock of geese had taken over the field and were grazing on the lawn.  As we ran our morning lap, we listened and watched as the flock took flight.  Later, we went outside, sat down and listened to and observed the field in our backyard.  It was filled with the chattering of insects and birds.  There was a cool breeze reminding us that fall was on its way.  Students wrote words to help describe the feelings and sounds of their surroundings and came inside and wrote poems about autumn.  The following is a poem from Zayne. 

I Am Autumn

By Zayne

I am the geese that the wind brushes against me

I am the grass that wonders why I'm dry

I am the trees that smell the wind

I am the leaves that think they will fall off

I am the crickets that see the trees moving

I am flowers that hear winter coming

I am Autumn       



One of the many grasses growing on our path



Back To School Updates . . .

Many a caterpillar has emerged (or is in the process of emerging) into a butterfly right about now in South Haven.  I caught this beautiful one enjoying the "pinks" at the base of our sign.  Butterflies have always inspired me.  I think, in part, I'm inspired by their seemingly endless patience.  They spin their magic chrysalis and let time and life transform them, in what seems like an eternity to anyone who has captured a caterpillar and watched the process unfold.   But once that transformation happens, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful creature than a butterfly. 

Several years ago, a student brought in a monarch caterpillar that spun her chrysalis in our classroom over the first few days of school.  My students checked on her endlessly. . . before school, during recess, and various times throughout the day.  As the weeks progressed the chrysalis became clearer and we started to actually see the orange wings through its tight hanging home.  And then one day it happened.  Right in the middle of a math lesson, someone yelled out, "It moved!!  The chrysalis moved!!!"  We all turned our eyes on the magic and slowly, really very slowly we watched the butterfly emerge.  It was amazing.  My students watched with the utmost attention.  (For as much work as I'd put into my math lesson, I have no memory of the subject matter or objective for that day but the emergence of the butterfly will always be etched into my mind.)  We had housed the chrysalis in a large mason jar.  As a group, we decided to take the lid off so that the butterfly could get as much fresh air as possible.  It appeared that she was tired from the experience and it took her awhile to dry off and start moving her wings.  We returned to our work and checked in on her from time to time that day.  Eventually she gathered strength and flew out of the jar.  We decided to let her be free in our room.  We brought in bouquets of flowers and we were all extra careful where we stepped and how loud we talked.  And then, after a week or so of living with our friend, we captured her once more and took her out to our front lawn and released her. 

Funny, I miss her still to this day.  She brought us all a simple wonder, awe and joy.  She taught me that sometimes it takes abundant patience and perseverance to grow.  In the end, if we are true to who we are and patient with ourselves, there is beauty and transformation underway within each of us.  We don't undergo a physical metamorphosis, but there are always times in our lives that invite true transformation and beauty.  Each student that I will meet in the days ahead is somewhere along the way to becoming the beauty that has always been there, the beauty that they are and the beauty that they will become.  I hope that I can find the patience, simple wonder and joy in them as we learn, grow and transform this school year.  That's life. 

--Becky Linstrom

Gifts from the Path

We have blackberries!  There are several blackberry bushes on the edge of the wooded area.  I plan on bringing some to the Brunch at Bailey's tomorrow morning!

Garden of Pinks

"From earliest boyhood the pinks have been my companions.  Mounds and rings of Grass pinks were in the front yard, left there by my mother, so different in their delicacy from the weeds and brush and deep smells of the forest from which the farm was cut that they seemed like tokens from another and remoter earth.  Their fresh colors and spicy fragrance were of a different order of things, and they led me out to hopes of far countries.  To this late day the memory of them lingers." 
--Liberty Hyde Bailey, Garden of Pinks, 1938

In honor of L.H. Bailey's mom, I planted some "pinks" by our entry sign.  Pinks are Dianthus flowers.  There are many, many different species of Dianthus.  This species of Dianthus is late blooming with varying shades of pink blossoms and thin grassy leaves.  I hope to add a variety of pinks to this small garden beneath the sign.  If there is anyone out there that would like to donate some pinks, let me know and we will add additional species of this pretty perennial to the bed beneath our sign.  I think Liberty Hyde Bailey would be happy to know that his mother's interest in pinks has not been forgotten!