A couple of weeks ago, we got a delivery....and the children were excited to see what could be inside!
We read the box for clues and brainstormed what it could be.
Once we discovered that there was larva inside (or very small caterpillars) we were so excited!
We read about what they needed for a home, how they would grow, what they eat and when they would be ready to make a chrysalis.
The tiny caterpillars quickly grew in their new homes. The children drew and wrote about our new friends.
We watched them transform and build a chrysalis in their plastic cups.
We built a butterfly pavilion (this idea is from my good friend, Tanya Solano) and now we were just waiting for our friends to complete their chrysalis' and move them into the pavilion.
We waited and watched our pavilion closely for over a week and a half, documenting and recording any changes we saw daily, until the other day, during the lunch block, we spotted our first butterfly!
Later on in the day, we saw 2 more emerge and the next day they were all nearly flying around!
We sliced some oranges for them because we learned that butterflies like sweet things and use their feet to taste!
The children loved drawing, painting and writing about butterflies.
The above images show how we can use our creativity and talent to show just how beautiful butterflies really are!
We decided to release our butterflies today so we went out to our yard and formed a circle. We all made a wish as we opened the mesh.
My Educational Assistant, Ms. Katz, helped me as we watched them fly!
Everyone was amazed and surprised to watch them fly away!
We had an amazing experience watching the transformation of these creatures and they will truly be missed in our classroom!
I never thought of putting oranges on the bottom. I always just put sugar water in a small cup and with a cotton ball. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteAlways such a fun day when we release the butterflies!!!!
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