Our Very Hungry Caterpillars

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog! The end of the year is such a crazy time with all sorts of meetings.  I am back and will be updated my blog frequently as promised. Enjoy!


The time has come for all the Kindergarten teachers at Beal to raise caterpillars.  When I became a Kindergarten teacher this year, this butterfly unit was certainly one thing I was super excited about.  Raising caterpillars provides for a very hands-on approach to learning about the life cycle of a butterfly.  As I continue to teach, I continue to learn.  There are many days when my kids ask me a question and I don't know.  That gives me a chance to show kids how to retrieve information from many different sources and that it is OK if they don't know every little thing, because even teachers learn something new everyday.  I am very lucky however because one of my fellow Kindergarten teachers is a butterfly EXPERT.  If my kids have a question that I cannot answer, they have been writing letters to Mrs. Costello, our resident expert.  She loves this and it is great writing practice for my kids.  So we received our painted lady caterpillars.  They were teeny weeny when they first arrive.  From reading many non-fiction books about butterflies, we already knew that the caterpillars have gone through there first stage of life, the egg stage.  They arrived in our classroom in the larvae stage.  As we all know, they ate and ate and ate.  I took 14 caterpillars.  I put 4 on the Holly Hock plant and then left the rest in their food cups.  For two weeks they have been eating and boy are they getting fat! Here are some pictures from our classroom

When I left the caterpillars on Friday, all fourteen were still alive and as plump as could be.  One of them was in their J positions and the others were on their way up to begin to make their button.  I can't wait to see what will be there when I go into school tomorrow. The kids have been making observations this past week in their Butterfly Journals.  I can't wait to see their expression when they see the caterpillars have formed their chrysalis's.  Stay tuned for more pictures on Monday.  I will also be sharing some of our caterpillar and butterfly resources.  Don't forget to comment and also become a follower.