Butterflies have landed

Suzie Harrison

Butterflies have been seen migrating all over Southern California and

have now landed at Top of the World Elementary School.

A particularly large butterfly specimen was found at the school’s

upper garden Tuesday with huge, orange, open wings.

But it wasn’t a real butterfly; it was the school’s principal, Ron

La Motte, dressed up as a monarch, and for good reason.

“We’re actually working for a joint grant with the Orange County

Department of Education and KOCE regarding butterfly education,” La

Motte said.

The program is called the “Butterfly Initiative: Celebration of

the Butterfly” and is a new Arts and Science Legacy Project. The

initiative was instigated to ignite imaginations and foster

creativity related to arts and science education in schools.

La Motte said students are writing poetry about butterflies that

will be entered into a contest at the Laguna Beach Public Library for

poetry month and put on display.

“We thought it would be fun to read some poetry in the garden and

get the kids in our outdoor classroom,” La Motte said. “I dressed

like a butterfly to help kids know you can have fun while you work on

poems.”

Second-grade teacher Linda Barker has coordinated the initiative

for Top of the World. Going from classroom to classroom, Barker

enthusiastically showed butterfly projects students had completed.

“One class will be doing a play on butterflies,” Baker said.

Megan Bartlett’s preschoolers made butterflies by having each

child’s footprint painted and transferred onto paper side by side to

look like wings.

“They made a line going through with feelers,” Barker said.

“They’re called tennis shoe butterflies. They’re learning about

symmetry.”

Barker said it teaches students how math connects with nature.

“Greg Potter’s third-grade class took two different leaves and

painted them; the leaf symmetry turned into butterfly leaf prints,”

Barker said.

Carol Nilsen used her passion for quilting to teach children about

the creature’s symmetry. Her first-grade class made a colorful

butterfly quilt using oil pastels and fabric transfer. The class

named it “The Symmetrical Butterfly Magic Carpet Quilt.”

“All second-grade classes will create a booklet on the lifecycle

of butterflies using computers,” Barker said.

Second-graders also raise butterflies.

“They each get a caterpillar, watch it turn into a chrysalis, turn

into a painted lady butterfly, and then let it go,” Barker said.

Marlene Javage, horticulturist and grandparent to second-grader

Alexandria Jensen, talked to students about plants and nature.

“Spring is a time for looking, looking at the ground at grubs,

seedlings and sprouting, and in the air at butterflies.” Javage said.

Javage spoke about awareness of the environment, noticing nature

and looking for signs of spring.

“The whole purpose is in conjunction with KOCE and the Orange

County Department of Education,” Barker said. “It’s all part of the

art and science competition in Orange County.”

The initiative also unifies the school while children learn,

Barker said.