Whew. What a ride it has been. The parent/teacher conferences, SSTs (student success team meetings) and IEPs (Individual Education Plan meetings) are over (at least for the next month or so!) and I am hoping I can cut back the 11 and 12 hour days...I don't think I've seen the sun (or my son) in over a week (and we've been having gorgeous fall weather!). In the midst of this crazy time, Mr. Dog-ma decided to have a birthday and I was in need of a gift. Well, what better gift than a leopard gecko? Puka is a one month old, 'high yellow' leopard gecko. Though domestically bred, these geckos originate from the deserts of India and Pakistan. In order to keep "Puka" happy and healthy, he needs a good supply of food...live crickets (which I keep in a separate habitat until Puka is ready to eat).
Along with a gecko and crickets, I now have 25 silkworms munching away on mulberry leaves. These caterpillars are part of my next Science unit. Each child will get a silkworm and monitor its growth (they form silk cocoons, the adults hatch, mate then die, we harvest the eggs to watch the cycle all over in the Spring). The silkworm caterpillars are quite amazing. They are incredibly soft and use tiny pieces of silk to hold on. When they form their cocoons, they use a single strand of silk a mile long.
The web of life and life cycle these small creatures participate in humbles me. We humans are so caught up in our 'stuff' that we forget life's simplicity. I'm finding that in these uncertain times I need the powers of nature more than ever, and it's something I feel desperate to share with my students...others obviously agree.
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