Rowan County Cooperative Extension 4H Program would like to accept a grant in the amount of $7000.00 from the Salisbury Rowan Community Foundation.
This will allow students in 50 Kindergarten classrooms to experience the life cycle of a butterfly in their classroom.
Winged Wonders
E.O. Wilson, the renowned naturalist, once called butterflies “the flowers of the air.” Beautiful with their brilliant colors, graceful flight, and benign behavior, butterflies enhance our landscapes and gardens. They are also indicators of a healthy environment and a healthy ecosystem. Butterflies play a role in pollination and serve as part of the food chain for other organisms. Butterflies serve as a gateway to understanding the natural world and a visual reminder of the need for conservation of all living things around us.
In this curriculum, youth will observe the wonders of the natural world unfolding in front of them by raising painted lady butterflies from larva through adulthood. Youth will experience the mystery of the butterfly life cycle while engaging in hands-on activities that explore concepts of insect structures and functions, compare insect behaviors and life cycles, and demonstrate the role everyone can play in environmental stewardship.
This program will be implemented in the Rowan-Salisbury School System, as well as private, charter, and home schools in our county. The target audience is Kindergarten classrooms, though homeschool families may include different grade levels. The teachers will be trained on the curriculum and the supplies associated with this program so they can supplement their classroom instruction in a hands-on way. This will allow 4-H to extend their reach into schools/communities in which we do not already have a strong presence and to reach a more diverse population in our county.
Funding will be requested for the following (may be all of this or just the main big items) to create 50 classroom kits:
-butterfly rearing cages
-bound curriculum
-student flashcards printed on waterproof paper (5 sets x 2 kinds of flashcards) per classroom
-larva
-plastic dishes
-sponges
-butterfly food
-safety pins
-water spray bottles
-magnifying lenses
-children's book(s) that follow curriculum
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