They were able to see the painted lady caterpillars get bigger and fatter as they ate the food. Each cup had 15 live caterpillars.
In this picture you can see the caterpillar is in the chrysalis stage and the wings are beginning to form. It was so much fun talking about all the changes that were occurring during the transformation.
After the caterpillars were growing bigger it was hard to keep them in the cup they originally came in, so I placed in these little cups which came with the kit. I labeled each cup with the student's name and they watched their caterpillar form its cocoon. Once they formed a cocoon I took them out and placed them in the butterfly pavilion. This is a very important step because the cup is way to small for them to be able to fully extend their wings. The wings will stick together and the butterfly will not be able to survive.
Once all the cocoons were in the pavilion we waited patiently for approximately 10-12 days for the caterpillars to transform into beautiful butterflies. During the whole process we watched live videos of butterfly life cycle and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle over and over again.
They wrote in their daily journals about the different stages of the life cycle. A group of girls began to write stories about a butterfly princess. I placed science journals (white paper stapled together) in the science center to encourage them to draw their observations of the different stages.
Then,... this happened! Wow! Even though I knew it was going to happen it was still SOOO COOL to watch it and raise these miraculous creatures.
Finally, we had to let them go. This was hard to do but I promised them that were going to be fine and that they were going to be able to see them when they went to recess.
One mistake I realized I made years ago was not letting the kids hold the cup. I realize now that was the reason they did find the butterflies interesting. I placed the cup on top of a tall shelf and occasionally I would bring it down their level so they could see and not touch. BIG MISTAKE!! better yet ROOKIE MISTAKE!! This year I placed the butterfly cups in the science center and simply just let them touch away. Prior to placing the butterflies in the center, I gathered them on the carpet and talked about what they were, and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to peak their interest. Also, I wanted them to understand what was going to happen. We talked about how to take care of them: we will not run with cups or shake them, etc. The results were amazing. I was amazed as to how much they absorbed from this unit which made learning about the life cycle of the chicken, the frog and plants so much easier to grasp. I will definitely be doing this again next year and encourage you to try it as well.
-V.
