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    • word consciousness
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    • creative writing
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    • informative writing
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    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
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    • science experiments for kids
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fuzzy little caterpillar pets

home / science / animals / fuzzy little caterpillar pets
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My kids are completely desperate for a pet. They’ve been collecting dozens of those fuzzy caterpillars that are everywhere lately, and then they proceed to treat them like a small animal. They make grass beds for them, they pet them, they squeeze them, they build play areas for them, they bathe and feed them. And then if they’re still living, they put them to bed.

I wasn’t sure how to handle all the love they’ve been demonstrating to these little guys until I heard them call one, “Wormy”, for the hundredth time. I knew they were not worms, but I wasn’t sure what they really were. So began our research on these guys:

  • “Wormy Research”: I asked Maddy and Owen if they knew anything for sure about their pets–What they ate? Where they slept? What they’d become? Where do they live?

No one was sure, so after we took some pictures and put them on the computer, we had a little lesson on internet research. We talked about what words we should put in our search, and they came up with “black”, “fuzzy”, “caterpillar”, and I added, “Maryland”. We glanced at the sites that came up, and we decided that the first two wouldn’t work and that this one and this one were definitely not our caterpillar. Then we checked the “what’s this caterpillar” site and still didn’t find our guy.

Owen’s letting his buddies play.

We finally stumbled upon our man: the Eastern Tent Caterpillar. We compared pictures, and Maddy and Owen literally jumped out of their pants, they were so excited. From here, I searched “Eastern Tent Caterpillar”, and we learned that they were once Bug of the Week and are starring in some crazy videos on YouTube.

Everyone stared open-mouthed at the screen through a few videos, but then we went back to our searching. We learned that they live in nests that look like tents, that they eat leaves (but not real food) like our familiar friend, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and that they turn into brown moths–not the beautiful butterflies that we’d hoped.

I think a cool follow-up to this research would be to re-read The Very Hungry Caterpillar or another book about caterpillars; we head to the library next week and will pick something up. I may even pick up The Very Hungry. . . in Spanish to mix it up a bit. There are a gazillion caterpillar crafts out there, but Owen came home with a cute finger-print caterpillar on a leaf last week, so I didn’t want to overdo it.

So it was just a little bit of real-life science research and learning today; hopefully it’s something that will really stick with my kiddos because it was meaningful and helpful for them. I’m hoping it will at least hold them over until we get a dog. . .

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

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Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

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For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

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Quick! Thereโ€™s still time to see if your area is registered to participate in this yearโ€™s National Civics Bee! #ad

Click the link in my bio to learn more and to grab a TON of free resources for families and educators. 

This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

#CivicsBuzz #strongcommunities #middleschool #civicsbee #teachersofIG
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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
View
Open
Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
View
Open
How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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