The Birth of a Butterfly

3 of the 15 butterflies have emerged from their cocoons. 

We immediately fed them a juicy orange which they really seemed to enjoy.

Because we had spent so much time learning about what caterpillars eat we thought it would be fun to see how differently butterflies eat. They no longer have a "mouth" but now they have a proboscis. It's a straw-like mechanism that has replaced their mouth. 

"You (Megan) were pretending to be a butterfly, and were drinking the nectar from the flower. We drinked it too at snack"~ Elijah

"You, when you was doing circle you was pretending the straw was a butterfly and a flower and you drank it the flower. Why did you drink the flower? That's funny! I drink apple juice at my house. I pretend to be a butterfly too at snack. Hey, that's me in the picture, I am next to Maya and Leesy and Megan. I like you, even when you are being silly, I do!" ~ Lulu

I demonstrated at circle time with a rose and a straw.

Then they practiced at snack with half straws and yummy "nectar" (AKA mango smoothies).

"Want more" ~ Jackson

"We used straws for our nectar ... we were pretending to be butterflies and the cup was the flower. I think the nectar was nectarines." ~ Bianca




"Drinking nectar like bees was fun, we got to use straws. It tasted like mango" ~ Caleb

"I eat like a butterfly... I like chocolate cream" ~ Elise








They thought laying still in their cocoons was tough ... drinking from those tiny straws was even more challenging ... it was cute to hear "more nectar please" ... "yummy nectar".

Look What's Happening

We are waiting for wings .... the caterpillars are changing. 

We now have 5 chrysalis and 10 more caterpillars who are busy eating and growing.

Out in the fields, eggs are hidden from view, 

clinging to leaves with butterfly glue. 

Soon caterpillars hatch. They creep and chew. 

Each one knows what it must do.

Just as our caterpillar friends are changing so are the egg carton ones we made.

We hung them up to rest and change in peace and quiet. It takes a lot of energy to change. 

The Fuzzy Caterpillar (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
The fuzzy caterpillar curled up on a leaf,
Spun her little chrysalis and then fell fast asleep.
While she was sleeping, she dreamed that she could fly
And later when she woke up She was a butterfly!

We practiced wrapping up and laying very still .... it was a-lot of work!!!

We are all very excited to see what will happen next!

We Found Gold ~ Yukon Gold

At the end of last years gardening season we decided it would be fun to cut up a few potatoes and bury them to see if they would grow. Honestly I did not think they would. According to a few websites I visited you need to chit and prepare them for several weeks before planting. Seemed like too much work so we just quartered a few and covered them with compost. From what I had read, you know they are ready after flowering and since we have dried up leaves and no flowers I thought we better see what was happening.

 


 "We find them in soil, way down below. Eight potatoes for lunch" ~ Elijah


 "Potatoes in the garden!" ~ Aydan


"After we dig them we gave them to Brandy and now we will wash them and cook then and eat them for lunch and we don't have to cut them 'cause we have enough for everybody" ~ Caleb 




"My brother eats mashed potatoes, but I eat potato chips. Potato chips are yellow and yummy" ~ Ellie

So, although they were very very small we each got to taste one at lunchtime.

"I like sweet potatoes" ~ Nina

"I'm taking the skin off like French fries!" ~ Lulu

"I took a bite and I like it, I want more" ~ Maya 

"GOOD!" ~ Elise

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Our caterpillar larvae has arrived. They are growing each day and the kids are enjoying observing, documenting and learning about what is happening.

"They are getting bigger, like the poster" ~ Gwen

"It's moving!" ~ Leesy

"When are they going to turn into butterflies?" ~ Aydan

"

"It's a caterpillar" ~ Ariana

"We need to feed him leaves" ~ Ellie

 "They have food in there" ~ Bianca

It will be a butterfly after that" ~ Lulu

"Black" ~ Elise

"They grow bigger"  ~ Maya

"Caterpillars in the jar" ~ Brendyn

"They are sleeping" ~ Kjeld

"It's moving Megan!" ~ Anthony

"Because their wings are so beautiful, they love to be butterflies, they need food like dogs" ~ Kylie

To help the children understand how a caterpillars body is made we made the typical preschool caterpillar our of egg cartons.  They are actually very useful as they clearly show the kids how the body is made up of several segments.


A few weeks ago we had make a chart of living and non living things. The we went out to take pictures of living and non living things in the yard.

Friends, trees, plants, worms, flowers and snails are all living because they grow and change

Toys, rocks, wind-chimes, tables and shoes are not living as they dont change or grow.






After watching the caterpillars for a few days and noticing that they were growing bigger and bigger we began discussing what living things need to grow.
Because caterpillars need food to grow we took a closer look at leaves and how they provide nourishment to many types of bugs and animals. In a very basic manner we learned that the veins of the leaves carried water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. The kids looked for veins on other things and we found them on our arms. (So, if your child came home saying that they had blue water in their arm you will know why). We looked at photos of leaves and made our own during art time.

After making veins on their leaves used pom poms to create a caterpillar or two on each leaf. To recreate the caterpillar "munching and crunching" the leaves we used a whole punch.

We then went outside to see if we could find any caterpillars in the yard. We didn't but we did find leaves that had been "munched and crunched" by insects.

 

We also have been learning poems and doing movement activities. One of the kids favorites is the Rolley Polley Caterpillar by Hugh Hanley. The following link will take you to an audio of the rhyme. The kids love to act out the movements http://www.hughhanley.com/QTmp3/Rolley-PolleyCaterpillar%28clip%29.mp3

If you have a book, puzzle, pictures, activities that are caterpillar / butterfly related we would love it if you brought them in to share. 

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