Butterflies & Praying Mantis

Today, the kids held the butterflies and watched them fly. Some were too shy to hold the butterfly but most of the kids were excited to have it walk on their fingers.

Our praying mantises hatched out. The bug enclosure was full of hundreds of tiny praying mantises. It is amazing to see how many come out of just one egg mass- 10-400. The kids had a great time collecting tiny bugs outside to feed to them.

Spring Science Project

We started our spring science projects. We are hatching out praying mantises and raising painted lady butterflies. The caterpillar arrived in a little clear plastic container that we can watch them grow and eat in. Once they crawl to the top and form a chrysalis, we can transfer them to the net tent to hatch. The praying mantis egg mass is called a ootheca is arrived attached to a stick and was placed into the pagoda until they hatch. They take quite a while to hatch and require lots of patience.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

We spent a week studying bugs. Several of the kids were expressing fear of bugs so we thought it would help to have some fun with bugs. We read books about bugs, listened to bug sounds, made our own bug collecting jars and bug magnifying glasses. We even watched the Bee Movie. The week ended with a "bug hunt" in the yard. The kids loved collecting their many legged friends!