Seven weeks ago our monarchs set off on a journey of 2,000 miles to the overwintering sites in the mountainous regions of central Mexico. We said "Adios, mariposas" as our butterflies warmed their wings in the September sun and flew away. More recently, kindergarten read Ghost Wings, a story about a young Mexican girl who looks forward to the return of the butterflies to her hometown as she helps her family prepare for Dias De Los Muertos.
We also viewed sections of NOVA's The Journey of the Butterflies as a review of all that we have learned thus far about the monarch migration. We tracked the migration with maps on Journey South's website and found out that more and more butterflies are being reported in southern states than earlier this month.
We are working on special projects now that will help us learn more about the celebration the children are looking forward to in Mexico called Dias De Los Muertos. They will be celebrating Dias De Los Muertos when the leading edge of the migration arrives in central Mexico. During this time the monarchs fill the streets, gardens, plazas, markets, and cemeteries with the flutter of butterfly wings. While the sky fills with orange, black, and white winged insects, children in the schools nearby welcome the returning monarchs with joy.
Teacher Ann is reading books from our classroom book bin on Mexico to help us learn more about life in Mexico and in particular what it is like for five and six year-olds who live near the butterfly sanctuaries. Our class was inspired by the table of memories called an "ofrenda" in Ghost Wings, scenes from around Mexico in Off We Go to Mexico!, and in Day of the Dead, the author and illustrators' description of a family's preparations for the festivities on Dias De Los Muertos.
