Suncoast Credit Union

The goal of this project is to enhance our science curriculum. In second grade, we learn about life cycles. This grant will provide an amazing learning experience. Students will understand life cycles by watching the life cycle of Monarch butterflies. They will learn more about and appreciate nature. They will also work on responsibility skills by daily watering the milkweed plants. Once the milkweed plants produce seeds, they will plant them so new milkweed will grow.

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Mesmerizing Metamorphosis

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School:
Veterans Memorial Elementary 
Subject:
Science 
Teacher:
Laura Cecil 
Students Impacted:
140 
Grade:
2 
Date:
July 21, 2021

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

 

Harry Debes Family Foundation - $232.00

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Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 120

When the school year started, my students were not very interested in the garden even though it is right outside my classroom. We had a few Milkweed plants, but the caterpillars were eating them faster than we could grow them. When the large Milkweed plants from the grant arrived, everything changed! We planted the large plants in the ground and planted milkweed seeds in the garden planters. We now have a thriving garden where the students have become consumed. They water each day, pick weeds and observe the whole life cycle of a butterfly at school each and every day! We have seen butterflies lay eggs and even found the tiniest larvae. We were able to observe the exact moment a butterfly emerged from its chrysalis. The students love transferring the larvae from the small Milkweed to the larger ones and then observe their growth and change. My students have become true leaders in the garden and struggling students feel successful and accomplished when there. Not only do they understand life cycles well, they all have a better love and appreciation of nature. We have even now grown from seed tomatoes, sunflowers, lima plants and peppers! The whole school loves our garden and appreciates its beauty thanks to this amazing grant! Oh, we JUST planted an orange seed. How cool would it be if it grew and these second graders could see its growth through thier 5th grade year?

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Watching a butterfly emerge!

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We LOVE our garden and work in it every day.

 

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Planting Milkweed seeds.

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Original Grant Overview

Goal

The goal of this project is to enhance our science curriculum. In second grade, we learn about life cycles. This grant will provide an amazing learning experience. Students will understand life cycles by watching the life cycle of Monarch butterflies. They will learn more about and appreciate nature. They will also work on responsibility skills by daily watering the milkweed plants. Once the milkweed plants produce seeds, they will plant them so new milkweed will grow.  

 

What will be done with my students

There is a garden outside of the second grade building. This grant will enable us to plant milkweed plants. This plant is a butterfly attractor. Butterflies lay their eggs on the milkweed. Once the caterpillar hatches, it will live its whole life on the plant. It is its home and its food source. When it is time for the butterfly to form a chrysalis, it will move off the plant and find a place nearby to begin the metamorphic process. Students will monitor and observe this process from egg to butterfly.  

 

Benefits to my students

Students will work in the garden each day (planting and watering). They will monitor the progress of the caterpillars and get to watch the metamorphic cycle of the Monarch butterfly. All second grade students will benefit from this project. It will also be available to all students at VME to observe and learn from this process. This project could benefit over 700 students! 

 

Budget Narrative

Twenty milkweed plants will be purchased for $160.00. Four large bags of soil for planting the milkweed will be purchased for $72.00. 

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 20 milkweed plants $160.00
2 4 large bags of potting soil (20 lbs) $72.00
  Total: $232.00

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union