May Calendar

Learn about how a duckling develops inside an egg, candling eggs, and tips for raising ducks by clicking this helpful link.

Click on events for more details.




Agenda View:

Four Ducks Trying to Hatch

We have four ducks trying to hatch.  If you turn up the volume, you can hear them!

Follow live at bit.ly/koenigyoutube.

Hatch Day?

We have two ducks (#4 & #8) who have cracked through part of their shell and the membrane. 

Follow along with our live feed at bit.ly/koenigyoutube.

Egg #8 is cracked!

Egg #8 wants to emerge.  They have broken through the outer layer of the egg and membrane and are currently resting.  We can occasionally hear some peeping!

Follow along live at bit.ly/koenigyoutube and look for LIVE NOW to see the current video.


 

Quiet weekend

Eggs were candled on Saturday and I removed two more "quitters" as they did not progress.  They both had an embryo inside.  I did not see movement and each had developed very slowly and stopped progressing.  We now have 10 eggs.

Just candled on Monday night and saw two more (#12 and 18) have too much yolk and not enough duck.  Will crack at school on Tuesday.

Several Monarchs should emerge this week.  So far, we have released a male (chrysalis #1) and a female (chrysalis #3) Monarch butterfly.  Another female (chrysalis #2 - deformed shape of chrysalis and of butterfly body) probably had OE and was put down.  We have 6 more chrysalis left!

I need to get the "nursery"  (brooder) ready for the ducklings tomorrow!

Day 20 live feed set up

I was very sneaky last night.  I knew the Monarch would emerge today (Wednesday), but once she knew it was daylight she would eclose.  I didn't want to miss it, so I placed the cage in the prep room (dark room) until I moved her cage out into the morning light - ready to film the eclose!  It worked like a charm, as I didn't miss a thing!
I used our new school iPads and time lapsed the break-through at 9 am.  Mrs. McCoy brought down the laptop and Aver camera for the "live duckling hatch" next week.  We decided to practice the youtube channel and used our new Monarch girl to observe.

The live feed link is:  bit.ly/koenigyoutube

The duck eggs were moved to my home (we are under a severe weather alert - hail, tornado, rain) in the event we ran into complications at school with power (heat and rotating the eggs).  The camera remained "live" overnight and will be monitored throughout the night and into Thursday.  All the remaining chrysalids and the computer/video set-up will be brought to my home over the four day weekend - due to Easter break.  Students were given the link and wrote the information into their agenda.

Videos from the day may be seen here.

Caterpillar to Chrysalis (Timelapse Video)

Now that all the caterpillars and going through metamorphosis, we are focusing our attention on the eggs, again!

We saw some serious movement (with visions of head and beak) and can't wait to see them next week!

Videos are now posted here!

Here is our last caterpillar going into its chrysalis - which actually only took about 3 minutes in total.  He was a fast worker!

Caterpillars Devouring Milkweed Plants (Timelapse video)

Over the weekend, we set up a timelapse video to capture the remaining caterpillars eating some milkweed.  They were some very hungry caterpillars.

Resources

The Monarch butterfly shop has some great tips (FAQ) and resources for those who need more information on how to start your own butterfly garden or the Timetable of a Monarch butterfly.  This is the company I used to purchase our butterfly cage used in class.  A contest is underway for a free butterfly cage.  Contest ends Friday, April 19, 2019.

Schools have used the Insect Lore site to purchase live caterpillar kits that turn into "Painted Ladies" butterflies.  Kits are near $30 and include the container of food, pop-up cage, tiny caterpillars, instructions and more.  Some deluxe kits include magnets, nectar sponge and stickers.

If you are in the Frisco, TX area (near Coit and Rolater) - Shades of Green has milkweed for sale.  I was lucky enough last year - to get three free Monarch eggs on my plant when I bought it!  They are open seven days a week and is a full service, family owned & operated garden center serving:  The Colony, TX - Allen, TX - McKinney, TX - Dallas, TX - Plano, TX - Frisco, TX & surrounding areas.

Shades of Green workshop:  Saturday, April 27 @ 10am

For many, one of the great joys of gardening is all the wildlife it attracts to the yard. Butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are naturally drawn to certain plants. Therefore, having those plants in your landscape increases the odds of attracting these fascinating pollinators. In this FREE clinic, will explain how you can make your yard a magnet for your favorite winged friends.

What We’ll Cover

• Best native perennials for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees

• Host plants and nectar plants for different butterfly species

• How to create safe habitats for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees so they’ll choose to make your yard their home

• Watering, care, and maintenance tips for long-term success

The clinic – held rain or shine – is free and begins at 10 am under the twin pecan trees. (We will move indoors during poor weather.) You’ll receive 30-45 minutes of quality instruction from one of our professional staff followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

Shades of Green also sells butterfly houses.  As of April 13, 2019, the one hanging to the left of the sign as a teardrop sells for $35.  The hexagon houses on the table sell for $25.

Day 16 - confession

Well, interesting headline, Right?
At the end of each week, I remove all the eggs onto a padded counter.  I change out the microfiber cloth at the bottom of the incubator for a clean one.   I use it to keep a moisture level high enough that I am not needed over the weekend to keep the humidity level high enough.  I rewet the cloth and return all the items back into the incubator by misting the eggs once more to survive over the weekend, as school is closed - no access.  Somehow, during the changing of the cloth and candling the eggs for staff children, #10 was rustled too much and the hairline crack became evident.
Mrs. McCoy (Stafford's Digital Learning Coach who helped me get the blog set up and the videos housed in Flipgrid) was interested in seeing a personal viewing of candling. As I was about to select an egg, I saw it.  #10 with a crack from the top to the bottom.  We scrambled for a fix.  I instantly thought of wax (crayon or candle) and began looking for some in the lab.  By looking on the internet, we found that clear fingernail polish would also work.  I did not have fingernail polish, but had success finding a non-fragrant candle and matches!
The video shows us placing wax on the crack.  We realize the duckling will need assistance, as he will not be able to break through the wax.  Needless to say, it was a long day on Friday.

Day 15

Thank you, Frisco ISD!  I was just presented with my very owned Chromebook!  Now blogging will be easier and on the go!  This school district awards teachers, while they are employed with the district, for having lessons (5C badge-Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) where teachers complete activities to allow us to explain, implement, and provide proof how our lesson or project exemplifies that digital skill.   These digital skills are important elements of learning and are often enhanced by the use of technology.

As I arrived this morning. a "J-hook" caterpillar was hanging getting ready to make his chrysalis.  A second caterpillar has now joined him at the top of the cage where he is making his cemented silk threading to attach to the top of the cage.
As most of the leaves have now been consumed by the caterpillars of the new plants, I plan to see more caterpillars at the top by the end of the day today.

Duck egg #2 and #7 were cracked open today, as they were not developing.  No heart or blood veins were present.  We now have 12 eggs.  At the end of the day, I observed that #10 had a hairline crack.  Mrs. McCoy and I placed wax over the crack to help it survive the last few days.
They fertilized eggs are #4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 

Mrs. McCoy has set up an iPad on timelapse to record the caterpillars eating milkweed and video the timelapse of making a chrysalis.  Can't wait to see what that will look like on Monday.

Day 14 release

Our first Monarch was released today during 6th-grade lunch.  There are three factors to consider before a release:

• Temperature - is it warm enough?
• Rain - is there a chance (if so, delay the release)
• Light (release at the beginning of the day)

The temperature was between 65-70℉ by lunchtime (which is the suggested temperature), but it still felt chilly to me!  Rain is predicted for Saturday so this will give our male butterfly two days to get acclimated to the area before the weather changes.
As I looked into the butterfly enclosure, it looked like a fight broke out during the 4th period with four of the caterpillars as they were running out of milkweed! 
Brian, my 18-year-old, was able to bring me my last two milkweeds from home which saved the day!  By the 5th period, every one of the caterpillars had plenty of food to eat.  Yes, they were STILL eating!
By the end of the day, one lone caterpillar made his way to the top to begin to find the perfect spot to make his chrysalis.

Candling Eggs - Day 13 in incubator.

Half-way...Day 13 in the incubator.  Today, we candle the eggs with Harvey's class.  The air sac has enlarged and the embryo is getting larger and taking up a lot of room in the egg and it is hard to see the image through the shell.

Since the first day in the incubator, we know the brain and the heart formed.  Now that the seventh day has passed in incubator we know that the beak and the organs are developing!  This week, the embryos will have developed nostrils, feather follicles, and the appearance of claws.

To learn more about candling eggs, this site helps explain the reason and process:  https://www.qcsupply.com/blog/product-tips-and-how-tos/how-to-candle-egg-and-why-it-is-important.html

You might want to plant some milkweed after viewing  Monarch winter migration (by ABC News) coverage in Mexico!

Day 12 - New beginnings

There was an amazing surprise as I entered the classroom!  A new friend was in the enclosure.  It was getting crowded, so I visited the FA room and the Art room to borrow their butterfly cages.  Students concluded that a male Monarch butterfly had "enclosed"!  The second period took the news well, about #17, and adopted egg #7 (the Koenig egg).

We candled and weighed the eggs today in all of Koenig's classes.

Due to our candling and not seeing development in some eggs, several eggs were cracked throughout the day.  P2 lost #17; P4 lost #15; P5 lost #9; P7 lost #1 and P8 lost #3.  I might have to crack #6 during the 6th period with Mrs. Harvey's class.  It is not showing signs of development.  The local  NBC news crew and the STMS Yearbook staff came during 7th period to witness our candling and the cracking of eggs!

****Please note that NO DUCKS were destroyed.  The eggs that were cracked and opened were never fertilized.

Whew!  What a day!  Life is amazing!  I still need to preview the 38 student video submissions to select the unique ones to post!  They can be found below...

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

Day 11 - back from the weekend

This morning, we found TVHC missing and a new chrysalis at the front of the enclosure!  How exciting! Monday, April 15 should be the eclose from that particular chrysalis. We also found five hungry little caterpillars!  One of the chrysalids in the back is starting to change color and you can see the beginning of the black wings showing.  It is a good thing we now know the difference between a male and a female Monarch!

The second-period class is concerned about duck egg #17 as there are dark, black spots inside the egg and some kind of liquid was oozing from the shell.  After candling it, I rinsed the shell before putting it back into the incubator.  It is still hard to tell what we are seeing.  We will give this egg a few more days in the incubator but will keep a watchful eye and a sensitive nose ready for a stinky (rotten) smell.

Koenig classes will candle on Tuesday - Harvey classes will candle on Wednesday.  They are starting to get dark inside the eggs!

End of day addition:  I removed egg #17 from the incubator - as it was oozing more liquid from the shell so I decided it needed to be cracked to view what was going on.  The smell filled the room and no heart, vein, or duck was inside.  The egg was starting to rot in the heat and humidity.  The egg was thrown away and the air was "Febrezed".  Sorry, Period 2 - the egg (and your loss) will be remembered.

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

Day 9 (prepare to discover: 4 stages and discovering if we have Male or Female Monarchs)

We need to prepare for the eclose of the two chrysalids from "before" last week.  First, we need to learn some new vocabulary!  Monarch butterflies have four life stages:
1.  egg (once laid, it takes about 4 days to hatch), 
2.  larva (we call a caterpillar - and he eats for about 2 weeks), 
3.  pupa (the metamorphosis stage which takes about 10 days), and 
4.  imago (adult butterfly - life span is from 2-6 weeks and is spent feeding on nectar, finding a mate, and laying eggs for the next generation - and then dies).

According to Webster's Dictionary:

eclose

 intransitive verb

\ ēˈklōz\

-ed/-ing/-s

Definition of eclose

of an insect

: to emerge from the eggshell or pupal case

We also need to know if we have a male or female!  As the butterfly emerges from the pupal stage (chrysalis) and starts to pump his wings to spread the flow of blood through its veins, we will look for the presence or absence of a spot on the lower portion of the wings.  Spot:  male - No spot:  female.  The female has thicker wing veins and 

has the appearance of being darker.

Born without a shell? Not impossible, says China!

One of my 8th-period students, Safiyyah, shared a video from the CCTV showing how China hatched the first chicken without a shell - published on September 4, 2018.

Day 8

Mrs. Harvey gets to candle the eggs today!  Both of our 8th-period classes will see candling today due to the fire drill that interrupted our plans on Thursday!

Mrs. Kendall Snyder (our ILA and Tech Theater teacher) just shared that the word Patito (means "baby duck" in Spanish) was the name of her pet Mallard duck back in her college years!  She found him on a bridge and returned him to the water and the duck followed her - wanting to be with her.  She spent a lot of time raising him before releasing him on a duck pond that belonged to a friend.  Thanks for sharing the news!!

TVHC has now had all the leaves he can handle and has made his way to the top of the enclosure.  He will need to prepare a secure location at the top of the cage to 1. hang upside down, 2. create a J hook shape, and 3. create a chrysalis to begin his metamorphosis!  How exciting!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

We remember Sue Stafford's Birthday, #ServeLikeSue

During day 6 and 7 we were misting the eggs with water and keeping the temperature near 100℉.  Due to the required curriculum, we are Geology testing but will candle our three eggs (per class) before we analyze our tests.

The large caterpillar is zipping through those milkweed leaves and getting bigger every day.  One of the two plants is being stripped of all of the leaves as they eat through all the available leaves.  I will need to bring another plant from my home so the babies will have some leaves to eat!  The babies are also getting the munchies as they are growing quickly!
Luckily, Mr. Koenig did a #ServeLikeSue and quickly brought up another milkweed plant from our home.  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (TVHC) ate through all of the first plants and two of the babies were pondering about where to find more leaves!  TVHC continued to eat through three more large leaves on the new plant throughout the day.  We transferred the lost two babies to the new plant.

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

Candling on Day 7 revealed some embryo development!

About Candling Eggs

To learn more about candling eggs, this site helps explain the reason and process:
https://www.qcsupply.com/blog/product-tips-and-how-tos/how-to-candle-egg-and-why-it-is-important.html

Day 5

Our 20 duck eggs have settled into a balmy 100℉ oasis of fun.  They get gently rocked each hour and flipped 5 times a day.  As I arrive at school, I mist them with a light spray of water.  Life's a beach for them!

The Monarchs, on the other hand, are simply showing off their maturity! Our one large caterpillar doubled in size overnight.  As he came to school on Monday, we measured him at 2 cm.  Today, he is just over 4 cm!  He chowed down on lots of leaves yesterday!  We now see four more tiny caterpillars ready to follow the eating patterns of the large one!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings from the day.

Day 4

As the eggs were moved from the Koenig home back to school, we massed the eggs to see if there was a change in weight from the first day they arrived.  As weird as it seems, they actually DID get a bit lighter.  For the most part, the eggs dropped one gram.  I did see several eggs that kept the same mass or dropped by three grams, but the majority of them dropped one gram.  I will re-weigh the eggs on Wednesday when we pull out the three eggs/class to candle for the week-one mark.

A few more Monarch (caterpillar) eggs hatched in the butterfly cage.  We can now see 2 chrysalides beginning their metamorphosis, 1 large caterpillar (eating more and more each day) and 3 very tiny, baby caterpillars.  Each caterpillar will need at least 5 milkweed leaves to consume in order to grow to the size needed to start the transformation into a butterfly.

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

April Calendar

Learn about how a duckling develops inside an egg, candling eggs, and tips for raising ducks by clicking this helpful link.

Click on events for more details.




Agenda View:

Day 3

The borrowed incubator was so easy to use and held all of our duck eggs!  Eggs are gently being rocked to keep them moving and not stationary.  Duck eggs need to be turned an odd number of times a day.  Luckily, the ease of this borrowed incubator gave me time to get the Monarch's settled into their mesh cage for transport on Monday.  I've measured a few of the caterpillars - as they are still small and hard to find!  I also saw a few eggs hiding in the leaves.  More to come!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of my recordings.

Monarch: pick up and settle in

Duck eggs are stable and moist for day 2 in the incubator.  I drove halfway to Houston to meet my sister and mother (dad stayed behind) for an exchange of Monarch ownership.  My family has a great location and "stopping ground" for Monarchs!  As the Monarchs leave Mexico and travel North, several of these butterflies love to stop by their place in Katy to feast on nectar and lay plenty of eggs.  My family is #ServeLikeSue as they drive across Texas to share their babies with our school!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Day 1 in incubator

Mrs. Harvey's 7th and 8th-period classes were able to view the candling of eggs (comparing to a chicken egg) before they went into the incubator!  Each egg was weighed, candled, documented color and any special markings before going into the incubator.
The CBC stayed after school today to place the milk jugs, filled with water, in the courtyard. They also prepared the numbers (countdown to Hatch day) in the front office window!
Tomorrow, my older sister, "Aunt Kathy", will be meeting me halfway to Houston where we will do a Monarch caterpillar exchange. We are about to have some more Monarch butterflies emerge in class!  It is a good thing we planted those milkweeds in the courtyard!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Harvey and FA classes candle the eggs

Mrs. Harvey's classes observed the candling of eggs today.  The FA class was also able to visit and get a quick lesson on the duck eggs compared to chicken eggs.  They will be back in one week to see if the heart has developed inside the duck eggs.  Patience is a virtue!
Due to Mrs. Harvey saving the girls athletic (and Coaches) from the baby rat snake and due to the practice fire drill, the last two classes will view candling on Friday. Eighth-period science classes were able to get a closeup look at a snake in class.  Sometimes I think we are part zoo - in 6th grade Stafford science classes!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Candle an Egg with Koenig classes

Today, we will take the assigned three eggs for each class and candle them.  I will start off by candling an egg (from a chicken - borrowed from Mrs. Nystrom, our Cafeteria Manager).  We will compare the two kinds of poultry eggs.

1. We will take our eggs and our cell phones (or flashlight) into the prep room.
2. We will turn off the light and get our eyes adjusted to the dark.
3. We will place each egg on the "flashlight" side of one phone using the flashlight app.
4.  Students will use their phones to video and record what each egg looks like. (The light will shine through the shell of the egg and present an image of what is inside the egg.)
5. We will candle the eggs each Wednesday to conclude at the two-week mark.  After the two-week mark, the growing duckling gets so big inside the egg where we can no longer see anything but a large, dark mass inside the egg!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Numbering the eggs

I am placing the tray of eggs in the refrigerator each evening (Monday and Tuesday) to model our strange Texas weather. The mass of the eggs was discovered during every class period when we numbered (in pencil) each egg and then used the "Skills for Living's" food scale to find the mass of each egg.  All six classes documented their findings and will have three eggs to supervise.  Mrs. Harvey and Mrs. Koenig have one egg each to supervise. Students came in at lunch to help get the documentation organized on the front board.  It is looking good!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

The Eggs Have Arrived!

Our excitement is palpable!  The eggs have arrived!

Photo of Duck Eggs

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Did You Know - Duck Vocabulary

A clutch is a group of eggs laid by ducks/birds (or amphibians or reptiles)

Eggs arrived at the Frisco Post office!

Stafford Middle School just received a phone call from the post office!  Our eggs are in a holding pattern until they are delivered to the school!  We are excited and can't wait to see those 20 eggs!!  They go into the incubator on Friday, so we welcome them ANY time this week!

Milkweed Planting

We just planted the milkweed in the courtyard.
The Monarch butterflies have started the migration back to the states and are in Houston as of 3/19/19!

Did You Know - Duck Vocabulary

Female duck = hen

Did You Know - Duck Vocabulary

Male duck = drake

March Calendar

Kids are getting excited about the egg delivery!
They thought it was interesting/weird that you could send eggs through the mail (postal service).
Mrs. Koenig let them know that LIVE ducklings can also be sent through the postal service!

Take a look at our upcoming calendar for March, and click on events for more details.

Agenda View:

Building the 2019 Duck Sanctuary

Rain didn't stop these students from volunteering after school to build a new duck sanctuary.

February 3rd, 2019 - Starting the Sanctuary

Campus Beautification Club ready to start working on duck plans! Maps of the courtyard, collecting dirt in January, planting in February and the hatching date is being set! 
We can't wait!

View our Calendars of Expected Events (click to view)

Scroll through to see our expected progress during March, April, and May.
Learn about how a duckling develops inside an egg, candling eggs, and tips for raising ducks by clicking this helpful link.


Agenda View: