Life Cycles....Cycles of life...

     As I begin preparing for another fun year of
learning in our first grade classroom, I naturally reflect over the previous year. The highs, the lows, the ups and the downs of last year led me to remembering that on my son's birthday we lost our entire tank of beautiful Brook Trout. Definitely a low for all of us here at Lack Tuscarora! But in the true spirit of our school, we planted our trout in our school garden seeking to help the students see that life truly goes on in cycles.  We must endure them all...

    Mr. Hart's flowers benefited from the burial of our trout. The trout were planted in a line where the marigolds are growing. The Indians were on to something for sure! Last week on the first day of school we planted alfalfa and grass seeds. The alfalfa sprouted first with the grass following. Again this year we will fertilize our plants with our brook trout that do not survive. However, I am truly hoping never to have to hold a burial of our entire tank of trout 11 days before our release date.

    

  The students were so excited to see the seeds sprout.

    At the foundation of learning about life cycles, is the concept of change... Learning to accept change can be difficult for us all, but the results can be something truly amazing. Mr. Mitchell, our new principal, brought us this jar containing a caterpillar and some milk weed. I brought it home over the holiday weekend expecting to replenish the milk weed. However, that was unnecessary as it began to build its chrysalis on Saturday. I cannot wait to show the students on Tuesday! This year we will not only release trout, but hopefully a monarch butterfly that we have yet to name.

     Our trout tank is eagerly awaiting the arrival of our Brook Trout eggs due the first week of November. Another year of adventures in learning await as we learn how to navigate the cycles of life while learning first hand about life cycles! Check back to share our journey.