During the month of September, the students observed and learned about the life cycle and migration of the Monarch butterfly,  while observing and recording characteristics of monarch caterpillars, while creating original Monarch acrostic poetry.  Students watched in earnest as Monarch caterpillars hatched from their  eggs, grew and eventually pupated and then they waited patiently for the arrival of the Monarch butterflies as they emerged  from their 9  to 14 day metamorphosis from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.  Students also fed and took care of the Monarch butterflies in the time between their emergence and release, cleaning frass (caterpillar poop) and replacing half eaten milkweed leaves with freshly cut ones. As word quickly spread that Mr. S. had Monarch butterflies and caterpillars in his classroom, many classes visited because everyone wanted to see the Monarchs and learn more about them.  

  Our 5^th grade class and I shared the experience of tagging and recording Monarch migration data so they would understand the importance of tracking information and their vital  role in the tagging and recording process in tracking migration patterns from New Jersey and as far north as  Canada to their remote over-wintering grounds in Mexico.  The students also realized that along the way food is a problem for the Monarchs and they saw the need for way stations where monarchs could feed to gain vital energy for their long migration.  Fortunately Ironia School has a dedicated group of PTA volunteers who started the wildlife habitat, bird garden and butterfly garden that is a also a certified Monarch way station, with dozens of nectaring plants and numerous varieties of milkweed plants. 

This past fall our classroom, was a virtual Monarch sanctuary with Monarch data, facts and  information gracing every square inch of wall space.  Even the ceiling was covered with Monarchs, as we had dozens of butterfly cutouts dangling from the ceiling on fishing line to give the  students the impression that they were in the Mexican sanctuaries.  During the Month of September we created “Monarch Facts” posters that we displayed throughout the school to generate school-wide interest in our winged friends.  

Also during the Month of September our class tagged and released 46 Monarchs on four separate occasions.  On September 18^th we held the first of the three releases that was preceded by an assembly where I presented a slide show explaining the Monarch butterfly life cycle, biology and fall and spring migrations.    We were also fortunate to have Mrs. Dzerovich from the PTA habitat committee who is also extremely passionate about Monarchs also make a presentation about the Journey North symbolic Monarch migration, in which the entire third and fifth grade class; over 200 children participated in this year.  This project has students creating paper Monarchs that were sent to children in the Mexican Monarch  Sanctuaries where they will be cared for during the winter and returned just as the real Monarchs begin their Spring northern migration.  After the assembly the entire 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade, over 300 students participated in the Monarch release  in the school butterfly garden, while many more watched from classroom windows.  For this, the first of our 4 releases we tagged and released 24 Monarchs.  It was a spectacular event that makes you wish there were enough Monarchs for every student to hold.  Many of the monarchs  refused to leave, even after flying off, they continued to soar above the school children as if not wanting to break the bond that they had formed, some even landed on other students as if to want to say goodbye.  Eventually the school courtyard cleared out as classes resumed, yet many of the monarchs stayed to feed on the many butterfly bushes and other flowers in the garden. 

A number of days later we again tagged and released another 12 Monarchs, then a few days later another 8.  Our final release came a few days later and was more special than the previous releases.   We were finally releasing the last 2 Monarchs that we reared in class.  Our class went outside and somberly read Monarch poetry and said our final goodbyes to what has become such a familiar sight in our classroom for the first 30 days of school.  Many of the students were saddened as the Monarchs flew away, up and over the roof of the school, not even taking the time to feed as if though they have to be somewhere in a hurry.  

The familiar sight of the Monarch rearing cages in the classroom was soon replaced with laptop computers tracking our friends’ southern migration route.  During the month of October the 5^th grade students adopted a 3^rd grade class and work in groups to track the southern migration on Journey North.  We also completed our symbolic Monarchs that were sent to Mexico and we will spend the winter awaiting our symbolic Monarchs return north just as their real counterparts leave the sanctuaries to migrate north.

I hope that students will view the Monarchs not as just another insect, but as a living and breathing thing that should be respected if not for just its sheer beauty then for its indomitable spirit that gives it the ability to fly 2,400 miles over sometimes treacherous terrain, through all kinds of weather, sometimes without food or sustenance.  If we teach our children respect for all creatures big and small, the future leaders of this continent and of the world will be more aware of the risks of using the chemicals we now use that threaten the very existence of such fragile yet indomitable creatures, as well as inspire our future leaders to reverse the threats that contribute to overdevelopment, illegal logging and global warming.  It is also my hope that the students will see that Monarchs can bring together a continent of many different cultures while they learn that the Monarch connects us as brothers and sisters across political boundaries.   

As a way of symbolically opening up our borders and creating a smaller global community, this past fall our class also participated in Monarch Teacher Network Canada’s Monarch Pen Pals project, giving the students the opportunity to communicate with same age students in Brenda Dahle's 6th Grade class at Wellington School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  They will share their Monarch adventures and as I tell my students, “The world holds many ironies and the world is a lot smaller than we think.  One day they may just bump into their Monarch Pen-Pal somehow, somewhere and think back to this 5^th grade experience of a lifetime, and when they do they can thank the Monarchs for having brought it to them.  After all, this project isn’t just about Monarch biology and science, it has as much to do with people and the realization that the Monarch in many ways ties 3 nations together as a smaller global community.” 

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