What's Happening in the Nature Corner?

In September of 2009, I received a lovely gift from Lucy's family who had hand-raised silkworms over the summer. Inside a shoebox lined with paper towels were hundreds of silkworm eggs. I put the eggs in the refrigerator to maintain cool temperatures through the winter until April when the mulberry leaves appear on the trees in our schoolyard. Just before the children returned from spring break, I carefully removed the eggs (still on the paper towels) and gently covered the bottom of clear-view plastic containers. I put the containers in the newly-designed nature corner near the natural light from the windows. I waited and watched what happened. Curious children looked inside and tried to figure out what they saw. On April 8, visitors to the nature corner saw tiny black dots, everywhere! By April 8, the black dots had disappeared. The paper towels were now covered with tiny thread-like creatures, each only approximately 1 cm in length.

A few children and I, prompted by Lucy's recollection of her summer project, collected mulberry leaves and added them to the containers. We have been doing so ever since, noticing that the leaves have holes in them and gradually disappear throughout the day.

Today every kindergartner took turns holding the containers during circle time to see what was inside. Several children had not visited the nature corner all week so this was their first introduction to the mysterious "little creatures." Hmmm. What are they and what are they doing in there?

Stay tuned!