Have you ever wondered what happens to Monarch butterflies in the winter? Where do they go? In this instructional seminar, second graders find out – and they send their own Monarch butterfly to the same place!
Monarch Migration Instructional Seminar takes place in Mrs. Young's room or in the computer lab from 11:35 to 12:00 during the first part of the school year. Group A meets on Thursdays. Group B meets on Fridays.
The students in this second grade instructional seminar have sent two symbolic Monarch butterflies to Mexico. The Monarchs will be greeted by schoolchildren in Mexico in the region where the real Monarchs spend their winter roosting. Below each class's photo is a letter that was sent to Mexico with each of our butterflies. Each group will receive a different symbolic Monarch in the spring when the real Monarchs make their journey north. It will be exciting to see from where the Monarchs we receive originated. Once they are received, we will log them in online so that the students who made them will know that their symbolic Monarch butterfly made it safely back north.
Did Anyone Receive Atholton's Symbolic Monarchs?
Click HERE to find out! (Hint: A primary-aged class has Thursday's Monarch, and a secondary-aged class has Friday's Monarch!)
Click HERE to go to the Monarch Map to find Atholton Elementary posted. Read our letter in Spanish and English, and see our symbolic Monarch.
Learning about the Miraculous Migration of the Monarch
1. Click on the slideshow below to see how the students learned about the Monarch migration cycle that happens each year.
2. Click on the slideshow below to see how the students learned the message that they sent to schoolchildren in Mexico.
Where do the Monarchs roost over the winter?
Click HERE to see the 12 Monarch Sanctuary Locations.
Click HERE to see the possible route the Monarchs take to Mexico.
Ms. Burgess' trip to a special mountain top in Mexico
Several years ago, our very own Ms. Burgess traveled down to Mexico to see an amazing miracle on one of the twelve special mountain tops just west of Mexico City. Below, you will see some of the amazing pictures she took while touring the Monarch Sanctuary and witnessing the roosting that the Monarchs do while spending the winter there. Click on the first photo, and you can advance through the rest of them by using the "next" button.
Mrs. Young learns how to tag a Monarch:
Though Mrs. Young is not pictured in any of these photos, this is how she learned how to tag a Monarch butterfly. She attended a workshop at the Howard County Conservancy, where she learned a lot and took photos of the tagging going on. Click on the first photo, and you can advance through the rest of them by using the "next" button.
Mrs. Johnson learns how to tag a Monarch:
Mrs. Johnson went to the same Monarch-tagging workshop a couple of years later. We're lucky to have teachers at Atholton who engage in environmental instruction! It looks like Mrs. Johnson had a lot of fun while learning something very special. Click on the first photo, and you can advance through the rest of them by using the "next" button.
CURRENT Monarch Migration News:
Click HERE to get the latest news on this year's amazing Monarch Migration!