The second and third grade studied butterflies this month so we planned a trip up to the third floor to see more. First we talked about the life cycle of a ladybug and compared it to the life cycle of a butterfly. Both go through big changes! The butterfly larva is called a caterpillar, and the pupa is called a chrysalis. That's where it changes into an adult butterfly. One of our rhymes is about a little girl named Arabella Miller who has a fuzzy caterpillar.
As well as taking scientific observations of the growth of the caterpillars, the second and third grade students created sculptures of different butterflies. The Rivers Class students carefully counted the number of legs on each sculpture to check they had six, and were definitely an insect. We also looked for two antennae, and three body parts. We admired the care taken to paint the sculptures the same colors and patterns as the butterflies.
Our final stop was to visit the living butterflies.
We noticed fruit on the bottom of the hanging net cage.
The butterflies opened and closed their wings,
showing us the bright colors on the top and lighter colors underneath.
We counted fifteen butterflies.
But it was hard to be sure as they flew around while we were counting.
When we returned to our classroom, the children reflected on what we'd seen.
I saw butterflies with blue dots. HS
Butterfly wings open and close. TY
There was food - lemons, oranges, watermelon. QR
They were flying. JP
They were falling down. KC
A butterfly has some fuzz on their body. HW
At the end of the morning we sang our worship song with new enthusiasm:
If I were a butterfly, I'd thank you Lord for giving me wings.
If I were a robin in a tree, I'd thank you Lord that I could sing.
If I were a fish in the sea, I'd wiggle my tail and I'd giggle with glee.
I just thank you Father for making me, me.
