Those of you with youngsters are probably familiar with the children's book; "The Hungry Caterpillar." It is a classic. With beautiful artwork it chronicles the transformation of a little caterpillar as he eats, and eats, and eats...until he's as fat as can be. LOL He of course ends up hanging upside down in a chrysalis, and at the end turns into a beautiful butterfly!
I never dreamed I'd be a 'caterpillar rancher,' but we've got 17 plastic cups in the classroom filled with caterpillars! We feed them some sort of a semi-solid caterpillar grub, and the kids are watching them eat, and eat, and get fatter by the day. Ha! They are messy little suckers. You don't think about it, but caterpillars crap!I've had to clean their 'pens' twice already!
By next week they'll be the size to transfer into a mesh-netting pen with some branches in it. They'll crawl up on a branch, hang upside down, and do their thing. All in front of the amazed eyes of a bunch of 1st Graders. It is the coolest thing!
Fun in the classroom! Some things are just better when you actually get to see them taking place right in front of you.
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Thread: Metamorphosis
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04-08-2016, 04:52 PM #1Registered User
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Metamorphosis
paolo59
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04-08-2016, 04:54 PM #2I grunt
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Awesome. Always loved that as a kid. Well done
I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson
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04-08-2016, 05:19 PM #3Going back to beast mode
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I asked you NOT to reveal my PM!Originally Posted by paolo59
Really? Do you think I really have a chance to end up like that? Say it's true! Thanks for giving me hope.Originally Posted by paolo59
"If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."
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04-08-2016, 07:53 PM #4Banned
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that is fantastic we bought one of those little butterfly house kits for the kids one year and they really liked watching the whole process unfoldOriginally Posted by paolo59
Those of you with youngsters are probably familiar with the children's book; "The Hungry Caterpillar." It is a classic. With beautiful artwork it chronicles the transformation of a little caterpillar as he eats, and eats, and eats...until he's as fat as can be. LOL He of course ends up hanging upside down in a chrysalis, and at the end turns into a beautiful butterfly!
I never dreamed I'd be a 'caterpillar rancher,' but we've got 17 plastic cups in the classroom filled with caterpillars! We feed them some sort of a semi-solid caterpillar grub, and the kids are watching them eat, and eat, and get fatter by the day. Ha! They are messy little suckers. You don't think about it, but caterpillars crap! I've had to clean their 'pens' twice already! By next week they'll be the size to transfer into a mesh-netting pen with some branches in it. They'll crawl up on a branch, hang upside down, and do their thing. All in front of the amazed eyes of a bunch of 1st Graders. It is the coolest thing! In 7 to 10 days they'll transform as the kids watch. Once they're butterflies, we'll take them outside and let them loose. The kids are already enthralled! LOL
Fun in the classroom! Some things are just better when you actually get to see them taking place right in front of you.
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04-08-2016, 07:55 PM #5Broken French Girl
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Ahah! That's why I teach Physics. None of that discussing stuff to clean.Originally Posted by paolo59
Those of you with youngsters are probably familiar with the children's book; "The Hungry Caterpillar." It is a classic. With beautiful artwork it chronicles the transformation of a little caterpillar as he eats, and eats, and eats...until he's as fat as can be. LOL He of course ends up hanging upside down in a chrysalis, and at the end turns into a beautiful butterfly!
I never dreamed I'd be a 'caterpillar rancher,' but we've got 17 plastic cups in the classroom filled with caterpillars! We feed them some sort of a semi-solid caterpillar grub, and the kids are watching them eat, and eat, and get fatter by the day. Ha! They are messy little suckers. You don't think about it, but caterpillars crap! I've had to clean their 'pens' twice already! By next week they'll be the size to transfer into a mesh-netting pen with some branches in it. They'll crawl up on a branch, hang upside down, and do their thing. All in front of the amazed eyes of a bunch of 1st Graders. It is the coolest thing! In 7 to 10 days they'll transform as the kids watch. Once they're butterflies, we'll take them outside and let them loose. The kids are already enthralled! LOL
Fun in the classroom! Some things are just better when you actually get to see them taking place right in front of you.
But srs, good on you. It's those things the kids really remember for elementary school! You're doing great by them! Nice
** Marie **
"Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom." - Jim Rohn
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04-08-2016, 10:02 PM #6Registered User
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ROFL Brother, I saw a quote the other day from a poet laureate, something to the effect; "We always marvel at the beauty of a butterfly, but none of us wants to think of the transformation that took place to produce such beauty." Ha ha! More or less on that quote. There are some deep, life lessons that can be learned from a caterpillar!Originally Posted by dbx
I asked you NOT to reveal my PM!
Really? Do you think I really have a chance to end up like that? Say it's true! Thanks for giving me hope.
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-08-2016, 10:12 PM #7Registered User
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It fascinates me, your background educationally, your career...and now in the classroom!Originally Posted by mcbourque
Ahah! That's why I teach Physics. None of that discussing stuff to clean.
But srs, good on you. It's those things the kids really remember for elementary school! You're doing great by them! Nice I think that is one amazing thing!!! I believe your 'charges' are incredibly blessed to have you at the helm! I had not taught 1st Grade in almost 20 years. LOL You get caught up in state minimum standard tests, Reading comprehension, Math...every way that a sorry question could be twisted, turned upside down, and deliberately designed to trip up a kid. You get jaded, just fed up, disgusted! I am having the time of my life this year! LOL Kids, little ones, learn by playing, by hands on experience. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing, when I think of co-workers in the upper grades. Ha! It's not play. Something like this is of more value than any textbook, anything I could ever say. It is just absolutely fun to watch! Next year I'm going to have an aquarium, hamsters...I may even have a freakin' snake!!! And the whole room is going to be a jungle!!!
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-09-2016, 12:52 PM #8Humble Megalomaniac
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This is interesting. How did you get over that jaded feeling? Just from taking a break? Or is this a different school environment?Originally Posted by paolo59
It fascinates me, your background educationally, your career...and now in the classroom! I think that is one amazing thing!!! I believe your 'charges' are incredibly blessed to have you at the helm! I had not taught 1st Grade in almost 20 years. LOL You get caught up in state minimum standard tests, Reading comprehension, Math...every way that a sorry question could be twisted, turned upside down, and deliberately designed to trip up a kid. You get jaded, just fed up, disgusted! I am having the time of my life this year! LOL Kids, little ones, learn by playing, by hands on experience. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing, when I think of co-workers in the upper grades. Ha! It's not play. Something like this is of more value than any textbook, anything I could ever say. It is just absolutely fun to watch! Next year I'm going to have an aquarium, hamsters...I may even have a freakin' snake!!! And the whole room is going to be a jungle!!! “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
-Voltaire
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04-09-2016, 01:15 PM #9Registered User
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LOL I requested a change at the end of last year. I had been teaching a 'state tested grade' for 17 years. The atmosphere under the district administration for the past 3 years had become absolutely toxic. Micro-management, threats, inordinate pressure and administrative meddling in the whole teaching process in the classroom. Ha! The last two years were the most frustrating, infuriating, offensive, and disheartening that I had ever experienced. That particular district superintendent abruptly resigned from his position and moved back to Colorado. The 'climate' across the whole district has changed with the new superintendent. Some of the stupidity, organizational and management apparatus is still present from the former, but it is a completely different working environment. Moving to 1st Grade was a blessing. I feel a little bad when I think of coworkers in the trenches so to speak. Those who teach in the upper grades. The pressure is incredible still. 1st Grade is not 'gravy train.' It is work, and at times incredibly challenging, but you simply do not have the ugly reality of state mandated minimum standard tests and all of the whirlwind of stupidity that goes along with it. I wish I had made this move 2 or 3 years ago. I told my local principal earlier this year; it is once again a joy to teach.Originally Posted by ElrondHubbard
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-09-2016, 02:45 PM #10Registered User
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LOL It is fun to watch the kids watch the caterpillars! I had one little one say; 'Mine is dead, he's just laying there doing nothing!' Ha! I asked him what he did after he ate 5 slices of pizza and 2 bags of chips!?Originally Posted by latebloomingmom
that is fantastic we bought one of those little butterfly house kits for the kids one year and they really liked watching the whole process unfold Another chimed in; 'I just lay in the middle of the living room floor and hold my belly!' ROFL Well, that's what that caterpillar is doing! Getting ready for another go 'round. Ha!
We are sort of doing this on a 'commercial scale.' LOL It's across the whole 1st Grade, 5 different sections. We've got caterpillars coming out our ears!
Last edited by paolo59; 04-09-2016 at 02:52 PM.
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-09-2016, 05:49 PM #11Humble Megalomaniac
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Ew.Originally Posted by paolo59
We've got caterpillars coming out our ears!“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
-Voltaire
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04-09-2016, 05:52 PM #12Registered sex offender
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I wish I had you as a teacher back in the day. Post pics of the caterpillars
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04-09-2016, 06:20 PM #13Banned
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it's like that one star trek movie only then they were putting something in his ear..Originally Posted by ElrondHubbard
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04-09-2016, 08:10 PM #14
Down at caterpillar ranch
Journal- One of the Ogres
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04-09-2016, 08:11 PM #15~~MsFit~~
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I respect teachers enormously as the majority are among some of the hardest working individuals out there. Their passion and teaching shapes the lives of the next generation.
Just for a giggle, here is Mitch Benn's rock opera version in the style of the War of The Worlds.
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04-09-2016, 08:26 PM #16Going back to beast mode
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Not confusing it with the earwigs from an old Night Gallery episode?Originally Posted by latebloomingmom
"If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."
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04-09-2016, 08:32 PM #17Banned
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nope it was this one
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04-09-2016, 08:41 PM #18Going back to beast mode
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Damn, it's an age thing. I never heard/saw that ^ one, and you probably never even heard of Night GalleryOriginally Posted by latebloomingmom
nope it was this one
. It was a Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) series. This guy had an earwig crawl into his ear...through his brain..and out the other side. Excruciating pain First person to ever survive it. And then he learns....the earwig laid eggs while in his brain. Damn, I miss Rod Serling 
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"If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."
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04-09-2016, 10:47 PM #19Registered User
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LOL My stupid left knee blew up last week like a jello filled balloon. Who knows why? I think it's an 'age thing.' I've had some silly Velcro knee brace on all week long, limping around. The kids across the hall asked their teacher why I had that 'black thing' on my leg. ROFL He told them Mr. **** was cleaning out all of the caterpillar crap from the little plastic cups on Wednesday, and they attacked him. Ha! You can lead 6 or 7 year olds along for just so long. Ha! They look, wide-eyed, then they realize you're just being silly! They laugh and laugh! LOL That is part and parcel of the joy of teaching!
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-09-2016, 10:55 PM #20Registered User
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LOL That blesses me brother!Originally Posted by DoULikeDaggers
I wish I had you as a teacher back in the day. Post pics of the caterpillars A kid, sometimes, just needs to marvel! We as adults, we often lose that ability ourselves. Ha! It's funny. Teaching a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds has done more for me in the area of simple, enjoyable 'wonder' than anything I've done in the past 25 years! LOL I'm an old cuss about now. And these little knot heads have given me a new lease on life. Ha!
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-10-2016, 12:06 AM #21Registered User
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It's a bit messy and ugly right now...but there's a transformation in the works!Originally Posted by ElrondHubbard
There you have it once again...those 'life lessons' that can be learned from a lowly caterpillar. Ha ha!
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-10-2016, 06:19 AM #22Broken French Girl
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After all the jobs and experiences I had, teaching middle school science is THE BEST JOB EVER!Originally Posted by paolo59
It fascinates me, your background educationally, your career...and now in the classroom! I think that is one amazing thing!!! I believe your 'charges' are incredibly blessed to have you at the helm! I had not taught 1st Grade in almost 20 years. LOL You get caught up in state minimum standard tests, Reading comprehension, Math...every way that a sorry question could be twisted, turned upside down, and deliberately designed to trip up a kid. You get jaded, just fed up, disgusted! I am having the time of my life this year! LOL Kids, little ones, learn by playing, by hands on experience. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing, when I think of co-workers in the upper grades. Ha! It's not play. Something like this is of more value than any textbook, anything I could ever say. It is just absolutely fun to watch! Next year I'm going to have an aquarium, hamsters...I may even have a freakin' snake!!! And the whole room is going to be a jungle!!!
I also don't have much worries in terms of testing accountability and all. My Math and Language Art colleagues have all these crazy Common Core state tests to worry about. I just find ways to make science fun with hands-on experience just like you do with the little ones. Except I have to deal with early teens hormones LOL** Marie **
"Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom." - Jim Rohn
OV35 Journal: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=157469793
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04-11-2016, 01:30 AM #23WYSIWYG- working on it
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Monarch butterflies?
I'm open to any suggestions and have a difficult time accepting limitations without an honest effort on my part, you can count on that!
"iCan, iWill, iHave"
There are always choices, no bad ones, no good ones, only "great" ones,
"Oh, great!" :)
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04-11-2016, 09:05 AM #24Registered User
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No brother, they're not Monarchs. LOL I wondered when we got them. They are a local, garden variety, smaller than large white or yellow butterfly. The Monarch would certainly be a transformation to watch. Ha! I don't know, but I suspect that fact that, although we see them here in North Texas, they are just passing through on their migratory route precludes them from our little viewing experience. Ha! In the Spring they are heading back North to Canada, in the early Autumn they are heading to points south, the forests of Michoacn. LOL That is one of the most amazing migrations of any creature on earth! You wonder how something as fragile as a butterfly could fly thousands of miles. They just fly through here. It would be interesting to know if it would 'mess up' a Monarch's internal whatever if they started life here in Dallas.Originally Posted by Frnkd
LOL I'm no butterfly specialist. Ha! There's still a whole lot more I don't know than I do! Poor kids! LOL
Ha! If you're unsure...google it! ROFL Their reproduction and life cycle is a pretty complicated thing! LOL I guess they are 'locals' here in North, Texas, and reproduce. So we could have had Monarchs in our little cups in the classroom! The last butterflies that are produced in the season are the ones evidently who make the trek South. If I'm not mistaken, they don't reproduce until they return North. Fascinating stuff! LOL A little more 'in depth' than a First Grader might require. Thank God!
Last edited by paolo59; 04-11-2016 at 11:40 AM.
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-11-2016, 09:49 AM #25Registered User
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I'm glad you are enjoying it!Originally Posted by mcbourque
I don't think I could handle that 'hormonal' imbalance in Middle School! Ha! They are something else. I think Middle School is actually more of a challenge in certain ways than High School.
It is a wonderful thing for the students, I believe, to have someone in the classroom that has had a previous career in the Sciences, or Math, Engineering. They bring to the table a wealth of information, knowledge, and experience. I have a good friend who has worked in 'corporate America' for years. Made good money! LOL He is in between jobs at the moment, looking. He has expressed the fact that some CEO's and administrative folk who he has interviewed with sort of view him as 'overly qualified.' Ha! I don't quite understand that mentality. If somebody wants a change, is comfortable and pleased in that change, then just what is the problem? Would an employer prefer somebody 'under-qualified?' I guess maybe some do. A 'blank, ignorant slate' to fill up with their own particular brand! LOL
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-11-2016, 05:51 PM #26WYSIWYG- working on it
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These were from February. These monarchs never stop laying eggs. Unfortunately some birds have discovered a nice source of food can be had from my crown flower tree.I'm open to any suggestions and have a difficult time accepting limitations without an honest effort on my part, you can count on that!
"iCan, iWill, iHave"
There are always choices, no bad ones, no good ones, only "great" ones,
"Oh, great!" :)
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04-11-2016, 06:32 PM #27Registered User
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They are beautiful! LOL I never had really read up to any extent on the Monarchs. I was aware of their migration. What takes place in certain places in Mexico right around the Day of the Dead each and every year is just amazing. Years ago I was traveling along a highway in Mexico in the Autumn and saw a portion of the migration. There were literally thousands and thousands of butterflies. A good many of them ended up on my windshield and lodged in the grill of the car!Originally Posted by Frnkd
These were from February. These monarchs never stop laying eggs. Unfortunately some birds have discovered a nice source of food can be had from my crown flower tree.
The caterpillars we have are not anything as exotic looking as that pic of the Monarch caterpillar. They are black, and hairy. Ha! When they latch on to something they don't easily let loose of it! LOLpaolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
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04-12-2016, 05:05 AM #28me
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My wife has met Eric Carle through her job. Says he is a really nice guy. My oldest boy has an autographed copy of that book. He is now old enough to not care anymore. Kinda sad that....
Gnomefit...ain't for everybody, only the sexy people.
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04-12-2016, 08:02 AM #29Broken French Girl
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That scene/movie still haunts me. Creepiest ever!Originally Posted by latebloomingmom
nope it was this one
** Marie **
"Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom." - Jim Rohn
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04-12-2016, 05:03 PM #30Registered User
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Ha! He can pull that old book out of a box somewhere when he's got his own little one, and read it once again. It will mean something then!Originally Posted by GnomusMaximus
Or Grandpa can read it to that little one!!!
paolo59
"If you're going through hell, keep going!" Winston Churchill
I've had to clean their 'pens' twice already! 
By next week they'll be the size to transfer into a mesh-netting pen with some branches in it. They'll crawl up on a branch, hang upside down, and do their thing. All in front of the amazed eyes of a bunch of 1st Graders. It is the coolest thing! 
.
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