A Beautiful Ladybird!

The blossom appeared earlier than normal on our cherry tree this year and was a signal for us to go and look for buds opening all around the garden. There were loud shouts of delight from Saorla when she discovered a ladybird on the cordelyn! All soon joined in the search and the awe and wonder that this little insect initiated always makes me stand back and once again appreciate the beauty of our natural world! Saorla had discovered a real gem and the search for ladybirds took up the remainder of the morning.As we had been looking at the life cycle of the ladybird earlier in the day, seeing him in its natural habitat,made work in the classroom come to life!

We have been so lucky this year as shortly after the cherry blossomed ,the pear and apple trees blossomed. Talking about insects pollinating plants also came to life as we observed butterflies and bees flitting from plant to plant “exchanging” pollen and the blossoms then turning to fruit! Another wonder which open the eyes of the children to all that is happening in the natural world around them!

As these children have such respect and love for all these tiny invertebrates that are so vital to our ecosystem, I decided that we would make a wormery! They were intrigued at how many came to the surface by pouring soapy water on an area on the lawn! We then made the wormery using sand and clay and finishing with leaves and then the worms. A few days later there were shrieks of excitement when we examined the wormery and saw how they had mixed the soil and sand and pulled the worms down!The children just love worms! They can now see that the worms have a job to do and hopefully will understand in time how all of these creatures are intertwined in balancing life on earth!!