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We had SO much fun observing our caterpillars turn into butterflies! I found myself checking their progress many times a day too! We received 5 caterpillars in a container with holes poked in the top and a gel covering the bottom that nourished them. Here are our observations:
We moved the caterpillars to our butterfly garden in preparation for their hatching. Minnie loved to watch them and see if they were butterflies yet. On Day #12 two of the five caterpillars started shaking and we thought they were hatching…. but not yet!
Watching our newly hatched butterflies! They noticed the red liquid ( a result from the color on their wings) and waited excitedly for the remainder of the caterpillars to hatch. We put a sliced orange in for the butterflies to drink. Did you know butterflies don’t actually eat, they just drink through their straw like sucker.
We also took a fieldtrip to a butterfly garden. They had such BEAUTIFUL butterflies! There were so many butterflies that they were even landing on our shoulders!
My favorite site for getting information and showing my kids pictures was The Children’s Butterfly Site.
I made the {free} Hatching Butterflies Observation Notebook to go along with our Butterfly Unit. It has information on the butterfly lifecycle, facts about butterflies, and space for your child to write observations and/or pictures along your scientific process. I hope this is helpful to other Preschool and Homeschooling families. And as always, I very much appreciate you taking the time to comment. It makes my day!
Where did you order your butterflies from? Thanks. Kathleen
ReplyDeleteInsect Lore is also a great place to order butterflies larvae. When I taught second grade, the students loved doing this activity and release day was fun as well. Here is the link http://www.insectlore.com/.
DeleteThe first time we did it we ordered them free through the kit (you can see it above in the widet). The second time we ordered them live from Amazon & got them SUPER quickly!
ReplyDeleteHope that helps =)
We did the caterpillar to butterfly experiment in preschool. The students loved it and learned a lot about the life cycle. http://www.brennaphillips.com/caterpillars-to-butterflies
ReplyDeleteWe hatched butterflies last year in preschool using the same kit. The kids loved it! Thanks for the printable. I'll definitely be using it this year.
ReplyDeleteBeth, You have been such an encouraging presence for my blog. I admire your love of learning, your kind and encouraging spirit, and your dedication to giving your children a wealth of life experiences. Living Life Intentionally has created/brought together a community of bloggers interested in furthering the learning of their children. Thank you! I am passing on the One Lovely Blog and Very Inspiring Blogger Award to you. You can find out about it in this post. http://keithaschaos.blogspot.com/2012/08/one-lovely-blog-and-very-inspiring.html You are under no obligation to accept it. I just wanted to recognize you.
ReplyDeleteFun! I like your observation book too.
ReplyDeleteKelly at Little Wonders' Days
thanks for posting..
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! Love the photos.
ReplyDeleteYou can also get the caterpillar rearing kits at FreeCaterpillars.com.
This is fabulous!!! We are starting our pavillion in may! I can't wait! Thank you for this perfect resource!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great resource! Pinning it. Coming by way of Discover and Explore linky.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post! I love your photos so we are able to experience the process with you. We've never hatched butterflies but now I'd love to try. Thanks for linking up at Discover & Learn - I've pinned your post to our feature board!
ReplyDeleteOur caterpillars arrived today! Thanks for this great resource to go along with the activity.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know that your great butterfly activity is in our Discover & Explore feature post today - thanks again for linking up! http://www.kcedventures.com/blog/life-cycle-of-a-butterfly-kids-crafts-nature-activities
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