Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration Update: October 22, 2004 Ooooh! Aaaah! "Oh, that's so pretty!", "Look at this one--it's so beautiful!", "That's so Cool!", "This one even shows the friendship and goodwill of all three countries!" This is a soundbyte of what the Journey North office has sounded like for the last week as we opened all of your envelopes of beautiful butterflies. Take a look at some of what we've been seeing:
Butterflies
Now Staging in Minnesota
Here's the latest news from the symbolic migration staging ground in Minnesota, where your butterflies are resting comfortably--at least for now. Since the deadline a few weeks ago, the Journey North staff and volunteers have been taking on the enormous task of processing the big beautiful butterfly cargo, in preparation for the rest of its migration to Mexico. We check to see if all of the necessary information is on your return envelope which helps provide the best chance of a safe return of butterflies back to you (and it keeps Beth Allen very happy too. Beth coordinates the Symbolic Migration each year. Thank you, Beth!).
A Peek Inside the Classroom This fall Journey North was invited into classrooms in Minnesota to share the excitement of the Symbolic Migration. Printing with paint and designing with markers and colored pencils students created beautiful works of art right before our eyes. How would you describe your hobbies to students far away in the mountains of Mexico? Can you translate: andar en bicicleta or - jugar videojuegos? Riding bikes and playing video games are just some of the activities that 4th Graders wrote about in their Spanish language class in Mahtomedi.
We hope you enjoy this peek into the process where each student becomes an ambassador for the magnificent monarch butterfly. Many thanks to elementary schools in Mahtomedi and Deephaven, MN for opening their doors! Try This! Are You an Ambassador for Your Country? Symbolic monarchs that we exchange are ambassadors that carry messages between northern students and students in Mexico, where the monarchs over-winter. The symbolic monarch you made represents you and expresses your interest, friendship, and appreciation for the role the Mexican people play in monarch conservation. As you follow the migrations of real and symbolic butterflies this year, plan to look for similarities and differences between the migrations. Keep a list of comparisons all year in your Journal and watch it grow. If you haven't already done so, here are some questions to consider and some lessons to try. Journaling Questions:
Symbolic Migration Lessons are Available on the Journey North Web site: Mark your Calendar! Here What's in Store for Your Symbolic Butterflies: COMING November 5th
COMING NOVEMBER 19th
COMING December 3rd
The Next Symbolic Monarch Migration Update Will be Posted on November 5th, 2004.
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