Mentoring for Monarchs

Planting Milkweed with the Kindergarteners

Community Circle in our Outdoor Classroom

Reading with our Kindergarten Friends

Last Friday, my class and I had the great pleasure of mentoring Kindergarteners.  Anna DeVries' class, from Lincoln Elementary came over to our school to learn about monarchs and help us plant milkweed (donated by Ilse Gebhard).  We had a lovely time!  After planting milkweed, my students led a tour of our paths (pointing out trees and birds as they walked).  We took a few moments to share our favorite plants and animals as we sat in a community circle in our outdoor classroom.  Later, we were treated to a wonderful snack from the Kindergarteners, while my students read the nonfiction book that we wrote earlier this year.

We learn by teaching.  One of my students came up to me, after reading to a friend, and said, "Mrs Linstrom, did you know that most monarchs only live for three to five weeks and there's just this one generation that can live for up to nine months?!"  (I actually did know that and I thought he did also.)  This fact should not have been a surprise for him.  I thought this was common knowledge to my students.  I had told them, we watched a video that included this fact, they had written about the monarch migration, and this fact was included in the book that we published together in class.  How could he not know this?  Here's what I have learned after years of teaching. . .  Students need to learn through teaching each other and they need to learn through hands-on and meaningful experiences.  This student hadn't really understood or comprehended this information until he read and taught it to someone else.  I responded to him, "Yes, isn't that amazing?!"  And I was again reminded that learning and teaching are two sides of a coin and that I am fortunate to be on both sides of that coin on a daily basis.  I also thought back to a wonderful experience I wrote about several years ago in this blog, entitled, About Learning A Lesson I Already Knew  (5/19/12)   http://lhbitrail.blogspot.com/2012/05/about-learning-lesson-i-already-knew.html.  In that post, I described how sometimes seeing something actually happen before our eyes will cause us to remember it so that we'll never forget.

I hope that everyone has the opportunity to live on both sides of the education coin as we all continue our journey through this amazing life of learning and teaching!      

Birding with an Old Friend

Checking out the wren nest

Listening for birds on the trail

Last Friday, my class and I had the good pleasure of going birding with our friend, Russ Schipper.  He visited our class (and all of the fourth grade classes at North Shore) earlier this fall and shared his knowledge of birds and several bird specimens.  He lit the fires of several of my students and we continued to study the common birds of Michigan throughout the year.  Russ came back in February to help us with the Backyard Bird Count through Cornell University.   It was a cold, windy day and most birds were smart enough to take cover, so we only saw a handful and Russ promised to come back in the spring when the weather was nicer.  What a lovely time we had!  We saw and heard many, many birds.  I was amazed at how many birds my students were able to identify with the help of Mr. Schipper.  A big thank you to Russ for his generous dedication to spreading the love of birds with my students and hundreds of others throughout West Michigan!

This Friday, we will be planting milkweed and other plants donated by Ilse Gebhard (Russ Schipper's wife) for our future butterfly gardens.  We will be getting together with Ms. DeVries' kindergarten class from Lincoln Elementary.  My students will teach the kindergarteners some of the interesting facts they have learned about monarchs this year before we all go out and plant!  My students will also read to the kindergarteners the nonfiction book on monarchs we wrote collaboratively earlier this year and give them each a copy to take home.  We are looking forward to this fun opportunity to mentor, teach and plant!  Thank you Ilse Gebhard!

Monarch Education

To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.  

--William Blake

Male Monarch on Milkweed

My students will have the rare opportunity to speak on the house floor of our State Capitol in support of making the monarch (Danaus plexippus) our state insect.  It's bill SB812.  Aric Nesbitt, our state representative, presented the bill to the floor last week after receiving letters and signed petitions from interested people like us.  The bill will go to committee and my students will testify in favor of it.  The opportunity for my students to participate in the democratic process in this way is amazing and I'm so excited for them!

We raised 20 some monarchs in our classroom this fall.  The eggs and caterpillars were all wild natives of South Haven.  After taking a workshop on monarchs and raising them at home, I'm pretty good at spotting eggs and caterpillars on the milkweed that they inhabit.  Studying the monarch has not only taught us about insects, habitat, adaptation and migration; it has also brought joy into our educational setting.  We had the rare opportunity to watch a caterpillar (larva) move into its chrysalis (pupa) stage and watch a butterfly emerge from the chrysalis.  Those moments were spellbinding for all of us.  We studied their milkweed habitat and the other animals that inhabit the milkweed patch.  We learned about their life-cycle and their amazing 2,000 mile migration crossing the borders of Canada, the United States and Mexico.  We studied their population growth over time.  This spring we cheered when the population grew from the previous years' numbers and we worried when we heard of the ice storms that hit Mexico shortly after the monarchs started heading north.  We wrote a class non-fiction book and poetry in honor of this amazing insect.  In short, I think we grew to love it, as one does when one studies and cares for anything in nature.

I remember a few summers ago, I was getting ready for a new school year and a family asked if they could stop by and meet me before open house and classes started.  The student was labeled autistic and he struggled in social situations.  I was happy to meet him and his family before the craziness of the school year began.  The student's dad spoke very little English and the student was extremely quiet.  Although my classroom wasn't all set up, I did have a chrysalis in a rearing cage and a map of the monarch migration route posted nearby.  As I was showing the family the classroom the dad became more and more interested in the rearing cage and map.  He finally pointed to the map and more specifically to Michoacan, the monarch overwintering site in Mexico, and he said that was his home.  I was in awe.  I asked him, "I have heard it said, that the monarchs carry the souls of those who have passed and they are part of the Day of the Dead celebrations in those parts, is that true?"  He smiled really big and nodded his head yes.  It was a wonderful moment.  My new student also started to study the map and then he started talking about animals he liked and pets that they had. . . That little chrysalis had become the perfect ice breaker.  Who would have thought?  The monarch not only crosses geographical borders, but it also has the potential to cross relational borders.  On that day, the monarch was a wonderful ambassador building connections between me and my student and his family.  I share this story, but I have many other examples of  how this amazing insect has enriched my life and others in a variety of ways.  What a perfect insect to represent our great state of Michigan!

The study of an insect may seem less important than the many issues of our day, but I firmly believe that it is in the studying of things close at hand that we truly learn and grow in this world.  I am thankful for the lessons this amazing insect has taught me and my students.  I am also thankful to Ilse Gebbard (Kalamazoo) and the good people at Monarch Teacher Network (New Jersey).  Their work and dedication to the monarch is making this world a better place, one insect and one human at a time.

"One should pay attention to even the smallest of crawling creatures, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us, and even the smallest ant may wish to communicate to man."  

--Black Elk, Lakota Nation

                 

  

Letter Writing, Politics and Monarchs

Representative Aric Nesbitt teaching

Last Friday we had a surprise visitor in our classroom, Representative Aric Nesbitt.  Earlier that week, we wrote letters to him encouraging him to vote in favor of making the monarch the official state insect for Michigan.  He stopped by to thank us and teach us how a bill becomes a law in our state.  It was exciting.  My students were thrilled that he would take the time to visit and that they could talk to him in person and remind him why they believe the monarch would be the perfect state insect for Michigan.  We will be touring the capitol after spring break, so it was also good timing for a lesson in government.  In addition, some students solicited autographs for a petition in support of this worthy cause.  We will be excited to see how the vote for this bill turns out.  A special thank you to Ilse Gebbard, the leader of this movement and a great supporter for monarchs in our state and beyond!  And a big thank you to Aric Nesbitt, who took the time to listen to us and to teach us!  In a time when politics seems to be divisive and even downright unkind, it's nice to meet someone who seems to genuinely care for students and maybe now even an amazing insect!
    

Some of my class posing with Aric

Poetry Night at the Scott's Club!

Poetry Night 2016!

On the evening of  February 18th, my students read original poems at the Scott's Club!  Students have been writing poems over the course of the year.  They each chose their two favorite poems to share.  Together we further edited the poems and printed them into our program booklet.  Students autographed their poems after the readings.  We had a wonderful showing and a really nice time.  Thank you to everyone who joined us!   The following poems are a couple examples . . .

Mom

by Johvanie

You are the sparkling plate drying on the rack.

You are the Einstein thinking of the answers.

You are the teacher looking to help.

You are the beautiful stars shining in the dark sky at night.

You are the ruby-throated hummingbird.

But you are not the hopping grasshopper 

and you are not the rat getting into trouble.

I am the sun making the beach warm and

I am the numbers on the page.

But don't worry, you are still the shining stars in the night sky.

I Am Mourning Dove

by Anijah

I like eating the seeds outside Mrs. Linstrom's window.

I see a big green lizard in her room.

I love going to her bird feeder.

I see the kids looking at me when they line up for a run.

I see the kids everyday.

I wonder what they are thinking.

I am in the bird book they have in their desks.

I wish I could learn long division too.

I am Mourning Dove.

Of course there are many more great poems where those came from!  I am surrounded by poets!  Thank goodness!  Our next writing objective is to convince our state representatives to make the monarch the official state insect.  We will study some of the latest findings on monarchs and work on our persuasion techniques prior to writing our letters in the next few days.  Students may also be armed with clipboard and petition forms at local events . . . please sign your name and help us with this worthy cause!     

The Great Backyard Bird Count with Russ

My class had the good pleasure of going birding with Russ Schipper on Friday for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count!  For the past several years, Russ Schipper, of the Kalamazoo Audubon Society, has generously volunteered his time and expertise to take my class out birding.  He comes each fall to our classroom and teaches us about birds.  Throughout the year we further study Michigan birds using the Cornell bird site.  In February, Russ comes back and takes us out into the field to look for and to record bird sightings.  We submit our findings online as citizen scientists in the Great Backyard Bird Count through Cornell University.  This year was cold and windy.  Although we were only able to find three species of birds out and about (3 chickadees, 2 crows and a cardinal) we had a great time.  Walking quietly through the trails on that cold winter day was an adventure.  We even had the bonus of seeing a couple deer wander past.  I think it is safe to say, we all had a good time on this short winter trip through our backyard.  It is always a pleasure and privilege to work with Russ.  He has brought his love of birds to over 500 classrooms and thousands of children and adults have had the opportunity to learn from him about his favorite subject, birds.  And there is something else he shares I've noticed it each time I listen to him talk with my students and with me.  He shares a sense of wonder and an openness to learning that inspires the natural scientist in all of us.   There is no question Russ will not entertain.  If he doesn't know the answer, he researches it and writes us back with a detailed explanation.  He models the joy of learning as a lifetime persuit and my students and I count him as a wonderful friend.  Thank you Russ!

  

Next week we will be reading poetry at the Scott's Club, here is South Haven.  Each student will read two original poems on stage and will autograph their poems after the readings.  Many of the poems were inspired by the birds we study or our trips outdoors.  The following poem is one example.

Ode to Birds

By Brad

I love the brilliant colors of the American Goldfinch.

and the crowds of house finches at the feeders.

I love the red belly of the American Robin.

and the hum of the hummingbirds' wings.

I love to watch the black-capped chickadee zoom in and out as it flies,

and the pounding sound of woodpeckers on trees.

I love the shriek of the screech owl,

and watching the wading of sandpipers.

Whether it is studying birds in the field or writing poetry in the classroom, learning that connects with the students' lives and the world around them makes learning meaningful and hopefully encourages a lifetime of wonder that is clearly modeled by our friend Russ.  Happy bird watching and poetry writing to all those who are so inclined.  

Our next adventure will be to write our representatives and try to convince them that Michigan needs to make the monarch butterfly our state insect!  We are currently without a state insect and my class is convinced that the monarch should hold that position!  I certainly agree!  Thanks to Ilse Gebbard for encouraging us on this mission!  We hope to welcome the monarchs back this spring with a new title!  

Living the Questions

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue.  Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.  And the point is, to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."  --Rainer Maria Rilke

I went back into my previous blog post titles and realized that there are several posts that I never finished and that still linger as Drafts in my blogger account.  Often they are more like unsolved questions that are lived but that I'm not quite able to articulate.  Here's a really big title and theme left unwritten: Dr. King; The Tradition of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and Nature Study.  I know that there is a connection between Dr. King, the tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience and Nature Study and maybe even an answer or two to some of the big questions of our day buried between that interface, I'm just not sure what.  This title and many others live as drafts in cyberspace and in my mind as unresolved questions.   Rilke captured this human dilemma in the above quote, and I know that he is right.  We need to live with our questions.  Answers don't drive us and move us forward, questions are what drive us and move us forward.  They make us who we are. . . To be human, is to be living with questions.  The details and answers in life have a place, but only a place.  We need to make room for more than answers.  The facts and details of our lives are embedded and framed by the bigger unanswerable questions that we hold.  It makes us who we are.

There are lots of seemingly large unanswerable questions we need to hold onto. . . How do we love our enemy?  Can we end poverty and hunger?  What would world peace look like?  How do we save our planet?  These questions have a place, even if they have no clear apparent answers.  Holding onto these big questions gives us hope for a future we cannot see.  Letting go of these big questions is to fall into despair and hopelessness.  We may not be able to bring about world peace, but maybe we can bring a bit more peace to a student or a friend through a generous act or a few kind words.  Maybe we can share our own resources a bit more generously and help a family or two with a heating bill or a food basket.   Maybe taking care of an outdoor learning center and bringing students outside to learn is a kind of small nonviolent civil disobedience that is needed in an age of excessive data and test taking.  It seems like the big questions give us a path to both wander and wonder, if we opened enough to listen.  

Computers are made for answers, but humans are the ones who hold onto the questions.  And we are the holders of hope and transformation or the bearers of despair and hopelessness.  In previous blogs I have talked about wonder, passion and love for the subject matter as important attributes for learning.  All of those things are hard to evaluate in a standardized test.  Holding onto big questions without apparent answers is another critical skills (or perhaps human attribute) we need to give time and voice to in education.  And again, it is nothing we can evaluate on a standardized test, but it is worthy nonetheless.

I think the future of great thought and of education will be in the hands of poets like Rilke and you and I, who are willing to hold onto big questions without needing immediate answers.  And this is good news, because we are born into wonder and we are born into poetry.  Rilke and others only reminds us that this is so.

I wish for all of you, big questions that fill you with wonder and hope for a world yet to be.  Perhaps just living with them, "gradually, without noticing it, [we will] live along some distant day into the answer[s]."