Good-bye Team Bond Crayfish!

Today is our last full day of school, and we are getting ready for summer vacation.  With that, we are also saying good-bye to our crayfish, however some lucky families enjoy them as new pets!  Today the students created their last Diary of a Crayfish entry in their individual books and wrote a good-bye letter to their crayfish.  Here are some of their letters.


Dear Big Claws,
Good-bye Big Claws.  I had a great time.  I learned that you guys eat cat food.  I hope we treated you well.  It was funny when you played with your house and moved your house up and down. I wish we could have you for the summer.  I hope you had a great year in Team Bond Third Grade!
                                                                                                           Love,
                                                                                                           Sara

Dear Cray Cray Jr.,
I have been looking and studying about all of your body parts and ways they help you defend yourself from predators. Whenever you get mad, you raise your claws in the air. Good luck in your new home.

Sincerely,
Caeden

Dear Big Claws,
It has been a nice time with you, but now you are going to someone else.  I remember all of the times...like when you bit me!  We learned that you like to eat cat food and that you have common things with your parents...just like me!  In the future I hope you are happy.  I will always be there for you and think about you, so I hope you have a good life!
                                                                                                       From,
                                                                                                       Daniel


As you can see, the children loved building relationships and learning more about the structures of life by observing these crayfish!  It has been a great year for the crayfish, even though 2/3 of them arrived to Glengary already deceased.  The positive thing is, we had one 1 death during the time they were in our classroom...which may be the best survival rate in all of the years we have been sharing our classroom with them!

Learning About Inherited Traits

Today I nibbled on a piece of cat good, and I was thinking about how small I am.  I'm small because of my mom and dad. I inherited this trait. I learned this from watching a video Mrs. Bond showed to the class on Inherited Traits and Genes.  The kids learned all about the traits that are passed on. Did you know that there are 30,000 pairs of genes in each person? I also thought about my tiny claws.  I also got this from my mom and dad. I've always wondered why I am so small, even when my siblings are big.  I guess I got the small gene?????

Love,
FiFi

The kids wanted to share some of their experiences that they have had with us.  Here are some of their reflections:

ZY: I noticed the swimmerets today!
MJ: Usually our crayfish is not active. Today it was more active.
CS: Why do the crayfish always put their claws in the air?
LY: Why do they have all of those parts near their mouth?
DU: Why do some of the them have a short antennae and one long one?
Mrs. Bond: Do all of the crayfish have different sized antennae?
(The class is now researching...)
RP: Why are their antennae jointed?
CS: How do they get their color?
DU: Why do they have a black spot on their back?

Enjoying Our Visits with Team Bond 2014-15

May 20, 2015

I was scared today at Team Bond. I wasn't hungry at all. They kept lifting me up.  I was sleepy, so I went to the shade. I heard that my brother, Tiny Claws died.  I wonder how my other brothers are doing.

Flash X signing out!

Today I got a little scared, and I jumped back.  Now I'm an Olympian. Also, I had a playdate with Louie and snapped at his tail.  I started to like the moonwalk today.  I really like going in my house because I like shade.

From, Paul Mustacheo

Today I saw something looking yummy, but now I know it's not food.  Sara was playing with me, and I thought the seaweed was food.  I grabbed onto the seaweed until I took a little nibble..."Yuck!" It was terrible.  So I now know not to eat everything I see.

From, Cray Cray

May 21, 2015

Today we got another shipment of crayfish.  Unfortunately, like our other shipment many crayfish died while being transported.  36 were sent and only 11 were alive when they came to Glengary Elementary. :(  Here are some entries from today.

Hi, my name is Louie.  I have 3 scratches on my side and back. My tail curls when I'm scared. When I;m annoyed, I snap.  When I'm tired, I go in my home. When they pick up my home, I want to snap. I'm not happy when that happens. I'm scared to eat the cat food in front of the kids. Sometimes kids put pencils near me, and I snap at them. Tiny Claws passed away.  I am very sad about that.  I am not happy.

We are hopeful that the holiday weekend will go well for our crayfish friends!

Sincerely,
Team Bond 2014-15

A Rough Beginning for Team Bond 2015 Crayfish

The crayfish arrived in Team Bond on Wednesday, after being shipped out on Monday.  We were very excited to get them unpacked and into the habitats we prepared for them. They came 12 in a bag, and when we opening up the bag, we realized that only 2 of the crayfish were for sure alive.  We were concerned, but through observations, realized there were some that showed a bit of life.  Groups of students took the crayfish to their seats to observe them and study their physical characteristics (what they look like.) Here are some of the entries from the students:

5/13

Today I came to Team Bond. I did not have a good trip! When I got into the classroom, I was not feeling so well. Once I got out of the bag, I was ready to meet my friends.  They thought I was dead, but their teacher found out I could be molting. They were surprised to know I was not dead.

5/14

Today I had fun.  The kids noticed that when the cat food went on my eye, my eye came in and out. I found out that my name is Fe Fe. I am happy that I found out my name today. I found out my friends are having fun too. I had a great day with my Team Bond friends.
Love,
Fe Fe

5/14:
Cray Cray's Playdate
Hi, I'm Cray Cray. Today was pretty rough. I got attached by Flash X.  She snapped my leg and grabbed on to be so hard.  It hurt really bad. It was on our playdate too! Flash X is my moral enemy. I'll have to defend myself better next time. 

5/14: Hello.  My name is Fauna, and I finally was able to move.  For some reason, I don't want to eat my cat food.  They keep turning my bucket around so I would move, but I like to be quiet.  When it's quiet, I move.  I like to squirm around the bucket to scare the kids. 

As it turned out, Team Bond had 6 crayfish that were alive.  Unfortunately Mrs. Bonkowski's class only had 1 alive. Ms. White only had 5 that were alive.  Because of this, School Specialty is sending up more crayfish next week.  We should get more crayfish next Wednesday!  Hopefully they will be strong enough for the trip! 

 

Week 2 in Team Bond

The first weekend in Team Bond was a bit rough on the crayfish.  Apparently some of the crayfish were not exactly happy with their roommate situation. Typically we have some casualties, as that is the nature of the beast, but I can't recall in past years coming back to find half- eaten crayfish.  I tweeted out the photo below, and I got a reply that made me belly laugh while the kids were still doing their morning work. 

Of course, the students were very concerned, as they have bonded with these critters over the past week.  Here are a couple entries from their crayfish diaries after doing behavioral experiments and observations on the crayfish.
May 19, 2014
 When I made new friends last week, I had a friend named Robert. And guess what?  He's dead!  He was my best friend...even my BFFL!  If he was alive, I would be happy, but he is not. I am really sad. Good-bye for now.
Sincerely,
Albert Einstein
Oh noooo! Robert Red died.  My new poor husband! My guess is that Snappy and Robert had a fight...Snappy won. Today I had a playdate...a craydate! I met a new friend named Pincher, but a little accident happened.  I got in a slight fight. Children in Team Bond were recording my behavior.  I hope to have more bold adventures in Team Bond.
Love,
Rosy Red

P.S. Did you see what Mrs. Bond tweeted this morning?  This makes me look like one tough cray! The kids were very interested in seeing inside my mouth! 

Dear Emma,
I am sorry that I pinched your hand.  I was just protecting myself, and you were making me feel very nervous.  That's what we do as crayfish, and that is why we have pinchers.  I am glad that you recovered well.  I could tell that you were upset at me.  I hope you can forgive me.
Sincerely,
Pinchers

The Crayfish Collection of 2014

We received our crayfish the other day, and Team Bond had a wonderful time observing them! The crayfish are part of our Structures of Life Science Unit. Each of the children are keeping a diary to record their observations. They will be creating diary entries from the perspectives of their crayfish.

 Here are a few entries:

 May 13, 2014

 Hi, my name is Rosy Red and today I came to this new home called Team Bond. I've heard from these humans. I think they're called that. I'm not going to be here for a while, so I guess it's like a hotel...a crayfish hotel. Once I got there everynody was staring at me. Some people even picked me up to bring me to a new tank and new water. One child said, "Whoa...look she raises her claws!" That child was right. I raise my claws to defend myself. They also gave me a different kind of food called cat food. I can't wait for more adventures!
 Love,
 Rosy Red

 Hello my name is Mr. C, and oh my gosh...I finally got to go to Team Bond. When I got there they already put food in it, but I only ate it while Team Bond was gone. But some of Team Bond is a little bit crazy with me. I even left a few things for Team Bond to clean up. :) I am really getting grumpy around some of the Team Bond members. I am not a big fan of eating cat food, but it's better than nothing. Some of Team Bond thought I was pregnant. Maybe I am????

- Mr. C

 OMG!! It is so hard to text with claws! Ahhh!!! Why is there a spoon in the lake- OMG!!! I'm not in the lake anymore. Where are all these kids coming from???? Hmmm...I think I might be in a classroom.
 -Pincher

 This is so weird...a bunch of humans are touching me with a thing. I'm standing up to look big so they can go away. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Snappy. The kids don't know if I am a boy or a girl. I wonder if they will figure it out soon?

 -Snappy the Crayfish

Good-Bye Team Bond!

It has been busy in Team Bond lately, and since we only have Big Bad Crayfish Brown left, the diary entries have slowed down.  The meanest crayfish of all is still alive and well.  He raises his claws each time anyone gets by the basin. He was one of the second round crayfish that came after many were passing away.  The students were asked to create entries from his point of view.

May 30:
Hello! I'm Big Bad Crayfish Brown.  I'm the only crayfish.  I lost my friends, and I am sad, even though I am the strongest crayfish. I hope I don't die too!

Hi, my name is Brown.  I am a rusty crayfish.  I don't like people around me. I am the only crayfish left, and I am the boss.  I like being by myself.

Hi, I'm Big Bad Crayfish Brown, the meanest crayfish in the town!  Everybody says I am mean, but I don't blame them.  I am Big Bad Crayfish Brown, just like it says in the song! Bye!

Dear Team Bond,
Thank-you for giving me a home for the last couple of weeks.  Alyse, I am sorry that I pinched you...Andy, you too!  I know all of you haven't really enjoyed me as much as Mermaid or Mr. Pinchers.  I wish I was able to feel comfortable around you, but the truth is, you make me nervous.  I am not comfortable being held, but I am working on it.  Perhaps the next class that I get sent to I will loosen up more to. Thanks again, and I hope all of you have a great summer break!

Sincerely,
Brown