Love Bugs, Hearts From Home

I had the children make Luv Bugs for our troops, wrote letters too for the Hearts From Home project that her teachers credit union/radio station was sponsoring.
This is just prior to the 100th day of school when my kids make the 100 Spot bugs to celebrate the number 100.






Every year the 100th day of school arrives right on the heals of Valentine's Day.....so somehow we turned this into the several days of looking at 100 while making little Luv Bugs for my kids enjoyment. And for our tropps who we certainly care about!
It's going to be a fun week coming up too, if I can get it together. First graders can look into ways to make a 100 while enjoying the Luv Bugs we make. Lots to do.
Here's the basics, see bug above.....
Take a construction bug from two big cut from construction hearts, and make 100 dots in the "way" or pattern you have decided to try on this Lady bug back, one for each day we've been in school hoping this helps us think about time passing, the concept of 100 build in days, dots and other fun projects.

(this is a troop card)


Well maybe in the pictures above you can "grasp" my idea.

I hope so, this year I'm going over in the evening on Tuesday to my husband's school to run this activity in a family Math Night. It'll be cute. I hope!
I get to do the "little ones" number sense activity.


This book, Love Bugs was my inspriation years ago.

On the 101 day of school my class has to do some of the celebrating to try to get everything made, just right. For instance we will string the groups of ten necklaces tomorrow. My husband tells me "set theory is dead" but not in my room, grouping to understand 100 matters and I surely hope I get it all packaged this week in understandable ways.. Not yet there. Though I appreciate the thought about the death of set theory.

Dividing/adding, grouping all come up in this project, and right now my children are moving from adding (sums to twenty) to understandings about numbers that are bigger than those twenty sums. As they grow so does the capacity. So in our enjoying the project sensibilities are gained constructing the bug out of hearts kids cut. By the time you finish you have "thought a lot."
I like to read and play the book I have on tape 100 Hungry Ants to go with this theme.


Just about now I'm ordering the butterfly larvae for our butterfly habitat and gearing up for the ELD theme "Wings and Things" ( also the name of a yummy restaurant in my hometown of Morgantown, WVA with the best blue cheese fries) as we head into the study of all things in flight. I'm terrifically behind in my blogging, work, activities, oh my.
(I apologize as so much is rich right now in the doing. And the telling is delightful.)

Besides getting buggy we are thinking of Valentine's Day. Of course.
You get to send mail!
Say I LOVE YOU!


Kids designed their Valentine's Folders and that again was the luv bug theme. It gives me opportunity in a joyful way to make my noises about insects!
The children are making folders to hold their Valentines for our big GO PINK ice cream party next week. We are eating all pink and red in ice cream delights. Cherry and strawberry ice cream, with red sauces and Whipped cream. Yum. Add some licorice legs and sprinkles, two marshmallow eyes, you make Luv Bugs to eat. Pictures to follow.

( our mailboxes all ready to be stuffed with Valentines) Cute!

Last year at this time my former student Larry lost his life and I remember him doing all of this and enjoying, loving it greatly. I suppose a memorial of my making this will be for now. Until something better comes to mind.
So I'm busy organizing this as well as many other projects, we are lifting off.
Buzzing.

Ah it's the time of Love Songs, and math proofs, and ways to turn stereos to 11, and we aint' misbehaving, just saving our love for one another......
......Well I know that I like to write to my days and last year I wrote to my broken heart.....so here you go with a few of those days poems to say something to the luv holiday we await with open hearts that celebrates the thing we need a lot more of.....a little love.

Ladybugs

I slipped several in the calendar as the numbers today changing to May 1st
Pictures of the ladybug.
"The map is not the territory"
Pictures didn't speak to me a 100 words.
But they quietly alluded.

In the jar on the table the 1st graders put 100's of the ladybugs
Invading our yard, losing their fears of them completely
Until in their molten glee
Another teacher who simply
Hates me for my face and 100 mappable reasons said, "Your boys"
( obviously I must now birth them)
Your boys are not lining up!
(She'd left hers a mile away messing everywhere, to say this to me, about not lining up)

"All your boys are stuffing Ladybugs in their shirt, pants, everywhere!"

One stood there, held by his shirt, red-faced.
Crawling with them.
Red winged creatures were lifting off of him in hair, off arms, his belly.
He was a helio-pad.

My answer was, "I see."

But I could not control a smile.
Why would I not allow that to lips of mine?
6 year olds with shirts full of ladybugs, up til then rather fancy
Gifts for a teacher who is certainly 'different.'
One landed on my glasses and in disgust Mrs. X walked away.



Orion

A soft voice
Illuminated the sky
Look, you should
See Orion. So
I looked.

It's beautiful I said.

We began to talk
Hushed, calm, lullaby.
Our woolen scarf
Holding us in wonder

You're beautiful we said.

Discovering our Orion
Another way
Inside the looking
Far away
A gentle voice

Buttered up sweet night in reply.