Our Science Project- Caterpillars to Butterflies

We have been learning about how caterpillars turn into butterflies by observation. We ordered live caterpillars and they arrived two weeks ago. Everyday we watched the caterpillars eat their food, grow larger and then crawl up to the top of their container and build their chrysalis. We learned new vocabulary words- caterpillar waste is called "frass" and a butterfly comes from a chrysalis, a moth comes from a cocoon. Our butterflies were called "Painted Ladies" and are a type of butterfly found all over the U.S.

Today, we released the butterflies outside. The kids were excited and sad to see them go. I explained that we needed to let them go so they could go find lots of flowers and food. I also promised we could do this project again.

The caterpillar container- a sterile environment, complete with food. Once the caterpillars crawl to the top and form a chrysalis they are transfered into the butterfly habitat to emerge.


In butterfly habitat, we fed them fresh cut oranges and sugar water.
Looking at the empty chrysalis.

Releasing the butterflies outside.

Thursday's Birthday Parties

Thursday, we celebrated Josh & Hannah's birthdays. We had to do it first thing in the morning before they leave for school. The kids really enjoyed cupcakes after breakfast! We usually try and have our parties in the afternoon but Hannah is only here in the morning. We spread it out over a couple days- making birthday hats on Tuesday, making birthday cards on Wednesday and celebrating on Thursday. Birthday parties are always fun!

New Toys, New Fun!

Sorry for the delay updating the blog! Technical difficulties and a very busy couple of weeks!

We have added a new toy to our outdoor play area. We have a new helicopter teeter-totter. It matches our airplane teeter-totter. The kids really enjoy the aeronautical theme we seem to have going on. I think it would be funny to build a air traffic control tower play house.

But the funny and ironic thing is the absolute favorite outdoor toy is the least expensive one! The rope & tree stump! The kids love climbing and swinging on the rope! They have figured out how to use the tree stump to get higher up the rope and swing farther.

We were also able to finish the play area around the swings-no more mud & dead grass, just wood chips.

Mother's Day Photos

We did simple Spring photos of the kids outside in the grass for Mother's Day. The kids enjoyed smiling for the camera when I told them the pictures were for Mom. They get really excited to have their photos taken. Taking photos of kids is really interesting, I really respect photographers who do it everyday. It is especially challenging with more then one child in the picture and coordinating them. I am very thankful for digital technology- for every good photo we delete 10 not so good ones. The kids also enjoy looking at the screen after we take to picture to see how it looks. They are an adorable group!

Mother's Day Projects

The kids worked really hard on Mother's Day projects this week. They made hand cards- the inside folds out to show just how much they love Mom. They colored wooden Spring ornaments for Mom and designed their own wrapping paper.

Wednesday- Music Class

The kids had fun in music class singing songs with lots of movement, motion, and scarves. They learned about and practiced different parts of music- fast, slow and rests. It is really a joy to hear the kids singing songs they learned in music class.

Tuesday- Travel Tots

The kids studied Italy on Tuesday with Ms. Tee. They enjoyed pretending to be artists and sculpting and painting with watercolor pencils. They learned about Italy's geography and location by putting together a world map puzzle. They had a really good class and followed directions very well.