One fall, in my early years of teaching Elementary School, I built a terrarium creating a closed ecosystem for my classroom. We included dirt, gravel, chunks of grass, rocks and sticks. We found a large preying mantis on the schoolyard and put it in the tank, along with a toad, earthworms, moths, pill bugs, and crickets. The students really enjoyed watching all the activity in the tank.
The crickets in the tank made their chirping sounds as we went about our school day. Little did they know the mantis sitting silently up on the dead branch was waiting patiently for her chance to grab one of them for lunch. When the mantis caught one, the children watched in awe as she systematically devoured the cricket. She was preparing to create her egg sac!
Cricket’s soulful sound
Chirping last mating song __
Fall mantis waiting
******************
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Victoria at d’Verse gave us crickets as our prompt for Haibun Monday. Crickets are an indication that fall is on the way once more. I decided to share how crickets contribute to my classroom during my teaching day back in the 1970’s
Join us at d’Verse : https://dversepoets.come
What a great thing for a teacher to offer kids that age…especially if they live in urban areas and don’t have a chance to observe nature like many of us do. The haiku was so powerful. Sometimes the circle of life seems hard to swallow but that is how it is. Liked this a lot, Dwight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Victoria. It was great fun at the time. She did create an egg sac and in the spring one morning the table and windowsill was covered with baby praying mantises! The children were not as squeamish as adults in seeing the process. The cycle of life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lesson! I know my grandchildren would love this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The food chain sometimes really bothers me. I am glad we are at the top. The children must have loved that project.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes they found it fascinating!
LikeLike
Pingback: cicadas’ shrill piercing whine | TheGuern
Thank you for reblogging!
LikeLike
I felt Jiminy Crickets anguish or was that my conscience.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Now you are mixing fantasy with reality!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love this kind of anecdote, Dwight, and teachers who go all-out to broaden young people’s horizons. I would quite like a terrarium like that now. I’ve never seen a real live preying mantis – that would be cool! But I feel sorry for the cricket -another lesson learnt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kim. It is sad how far education has moved from hands on learning to teaching the test. Now there is not time for this kind of learning in the classroom. It is all about keeping on schedule and getting good scores!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a delightful learning environment, Dwight 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! We had a good time!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing! Those were lucky students to enjoy a piece of nature in their very own classroom. By the way, I always thought they should be called “preying” mantis!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your comment. Yes it was an interesting time. They are called Preying Mantis, I shortened for the sake of the poem. (poetic license) :>)
LikeLike
Ah, the circle of life. It can be hideous. And you really have that circle her with the mantis both killing and preparing her eggs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, worth a thousand words for the students!
LikeLike
How lucky those children were. Kudos for your teaching skills & poetic recall. In Junior High, in a rural area, we worked with fertilized chicken eggs. I still have to have my eggs over hard; no runny yolks for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Glen. I appreciate your comments. If you travel to the Far East, you can have your eggs with half grown chicks in them!! Not for me for sure!!
LikeLike
When my boys were younger they had a baby mantis for about a week. They caught bugs for it and let it drink a drop of water from their finger tips… then we let it go. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are most interesting to watch. You probably have lots of them as a result.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A marvelous example of “Show, don’t tell.” Those students benefitted from your creative instruction, I’m sure! Lovely reminiscence, Dwight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank Frank. I appreciate your kind words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, Dwight!
LikeLike
You are such a good teacher and I am sure these kids learned a lot from watching the animals in the tank. Very nice personal share Dwight ~
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Grace, for your kind words.
LikeLike