Habambee Environmental Science School
Maplewood, Minnesota
Contributed by Jenny Eckman

Dear Journey North:

Our whole school is involved with monarchs!

Because we are a year-round school, our work extends into summer. At the end of May, the 4th graders did an activity from JN before our break where we charted the first monarch seen at our latitude over the past 10 years. The students determined that we had a high probability of seeing monarchs when we returned for fourth quarter. When we came back after break, the students marked milkweed on the school grounds with flags, labeled the patch to protect the plants from mowing or spraying, as well as to alert other students where to watch for butterflies and eggs.

I was thrilled that the kids easily made the connection between declining monarch populations and less milkweed. They asked if we could plant milkweed for our summer project. After determining what factors seemed to be good environment for milkweed, we chose a place to plant some additional milkweed. After seeing photos and reports on JN about nectar plants, our project became a full butterfly garden with both milkweed and butterfly-friendly flowering plants. When we read the monarch update spotlight about the 4th graders in North Carolina propagating and giving away milkweed, we decided to plan a similar project with our milkweed! This project is now underway!

Here are some highlights about our work:

Monarch Mobile
We had a guest artist in residence who worked with 5th and 6th graders to make a giant monarch mobile that is now hanging in the entryway to our school. Students researched monarch identification to help make their pieces of the mobile accurate. The artist worked with our custodian to determine the best place to hang the mobile. We are finishing the project with a video about migration and how to help monarchs. We'll have a QR code next to the mobile display so anyone who sees the mobile and wants to know more can instantly get information!

Butterfly Puppets
With K, 1, and 2, we did large butterfly puppets made of recycled and re-used materials. Our 3rd and 4th graders served as assistants for the younger students during puppet making and also researched and made a display about monarch predators. The older kids worked carefully to make their monarchs scientifically accurate. The JN slideshow "Do You Know a Monarch When You See One?" was a key lesson during that project.

The younger kids made their puppets in any colors they wanted, but we did make sure the bodies had a head, abdomen, and thorax. Students worked together to twist plastic bags into butterfly bodies, make wings from recycled manila folders, and add designs using butterfly field guides for inspiration with stencils to make designs. We showcased our work at our Science Creativity and Culture Fair. I hosted a monarch information table run by students. We had a ceremony to celebrate the installation of the mobile and a butterfly puppet parade, marching to an original song written by one of our teachers. The song is called the monarch tango and begins with the line, "I want to go to Mexico."

I can't say enough about the quality resources Journey North offers and how much I've enjoyed making monarchs a key theme for Harambee School.