Butterflies

In the spring new life is in the air as plants start to grow and baby animals are born. Why not enjoy this excitement right in your classroom by hatching butterflies. The experience is amazing for the students to witness as they observe the life cycle of a butterfly and learn about metamorphosis. There is so much that can be learned about butterflies by watching them develop. Butterfly kits are very popular and there are a number of places where you can order the kits from. Two sites we have used at our preschool are www.earthsbirthday.org and www.insectlore.com to order butterflies. The butterflies come as tiny caterpillars that are in the larvae stage in a cup with food for them to survive on. As caterpillars they grow fast, maturing and then changing into chrysalides. During this stage there are a lot of changes to observe and talk about with your students. Once the caterpillars have formed chrysalis they are moved into a butterfly house, where then the student wait for the butterflies to emerge. The whole process takes about three weeks for a Painted Lady butterfly to develop. Last year after the chrysalises were formed we kept a running record of how long it took each butterfly to emerge. This experience has a lot of science and math involved for the student to see firsthand. In my classroom as we observe the changes in the life cycle of a butterfly have questioned the droppings at the bottom of the container and the "blood" that appears after the butterflies have hatched. These questions and more can be discoved and learned about as you experience the life cycle of a butterfly right in your own classroom. In the end, watch the butterflies fly away into their new environment outdoors and question the next time you see a butterfly if that was one you hatched in your classroom.