Students in Mary Lenahan's fourth grade class at Leeds Avenue School in Pleasantville, New Jersey are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first spring monarch!

"We've been checking the garden for new milkweed sprouts for weeks. Last week the milkweed was finally there, peeking from beneath the leaf litter.

"On April 20, students measured the new milkweed plants and they ranged in height from 2 inches to 4 inches. On April 30, students again measured and recorded the growth of the milkweed. Some of the plants had grown to over 1 foot! We will use the data to graph the milkweed's progress!

"Not only do we raise monarchs, but we raise other varieties of local butterflies and moths as well. The black swallowtails spend their winter in their chrysalis and are now beginning to emerge.

Omar and Friends
Releasing one of our springtime friends, a newly emerged black swallowtail butterfly!

"It is wonderful to see the children learning about the different host plants of the various species of lepidoptera. Using monarchs in the classroom has been one of the best things I have done in my 22 years of teaching. Students learn first hand about providing food and the proper habitat for monarchs as well as other insects and animals. In addition, they are learning about the migration of the monarch to and from its wintering grounds in Michoacan, Mexico. My fourth graders can't get enough of the monarchs!"