Observing metamorphosis for nature study.
What an incredible experience for a child to witness the miracle of a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly. I think it should be something a child gets to observe at least once . I decided to order a kit for the end of my daughter’s kindergarten year and I am so glad we had this experience.
Here I will share what we used and how we studied alongside the experience. (It was simple and low-key.)
Reading, Observing, and Nature Journaling.
We started by reading our book while we waited for the caterpillars to arrive by mail. (That was an exciting first step for a six-year-old!) We looked through some books from the shelf and read what we could find about the life cycle of butterflies, but the best one was the one I ordered for this particular project (linked below.) She’ll have more reading soon in her Ambleside Online Year 1 so I left those for later, I am sure she will connect what she hears in the readings with this personal, tangible experience.
We also watched a few time-lapse videos on YouTube and then made some nature journal entries. I printed a step-by-step drawing guide for her to draw and color a butterfly. She asked me to write the words for her to copy in her journal and she wrote the date, that’s it! If your student is struggling or frustrated in trying to draw, use our window trick: simply tape paper over the guide and place it on a window. Tracing is a great way to introduce drawing and is helpful for drawing more details items too. If you want the drawing to be in a nature journal, you can then cut it to size and glue or tape it into the journal.
After a few days of watching the caterpillars eat and make webs, we saw them attach to the top of the cup and “unzip” their outer skin to reveal the chrysalis underneath. Then we watched for a few days until all the caterpillars had become chrysalides before moving them to the habitat. From there we watched and waited until the exciting moment! We kept them for a few days until all had emerged and were able to fly. She was sad to see them go but it was a great opportunity to talk about caring for nature and also of the cycles of life.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
-Maya Angelou
What we used:
(Affiliate disclosure: some of the links on this page may give a small commission to this website if purchased. All opinions are honest and from my own experience.)
We have used and loved these wonderful books for our nature study. This the first book in a series of seven color prints of the Anna Comstock Handbook of Nature Study and it focuses on insects. We didn’t read this yet because I was waiting to start this particular volume next school year. (I recommend the prints by Living Book Press for the full-color photographs which are more helpful than the grainy black-and-white images. The book is also rather large and doesn’t lay flat.) I do find the Kindle version below to be a great option in addition since you can take it on the go or even search inside when you need to look for information relevant to something you’ve come across in nature or in the backyard.
Here is the painted lady caterpillar kit we ordered. The instructions were very helpful and all six caterpillars survived and grew into butterflies. It was much simpler than I had imagined. It also includes a bottle to mist the chrysalides and a feeder for the first few days while you’re waiting to release them.
We used this habitat in particular because after reading reviews I realized that this one would allow a better vew through the clear plastic pannel. It’s also bigger than most which allows the butterflies to fly around a little, of course you don’t want to keep them too long but it was nice.
I used this book, How to Raise Monarch Butterflies. We weren’t able to order Monarch butterflies because the USDA does not permit selling them in Arizona where we live. (Here is some helpful information about which kinds of butterflies you can legally buy in which states of the USA.) However, we did enjoy using this book to learn about the butterfly life cycle, it had great photos and interesting details.
This is what she is using for her nature journal. It is sturdy and has absorbent pages that can withstand watercolor, it also holds up to heavy-handed drawing and erasing which often happens with young artists. Walmart has similar books that are more affordable and we’ve had good results with them, however, I realize now how long one journal can be used (sometimes for years) and it is worth getting something good quality from the beginning if you can. I’m looking forward to seeing all the entries she makes as she begins to use it more in her first-grade year.
I hope this has been helpful! I hope you’re able to enjoy raising butterflies with your child also. Please let me know in the comments if there is anything I can help you with.
Two Butterflies went out at Noon—
And waltzed above a Farm—
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested on a Beam—And then—together bore away
Upon a shining Sea—
Though never yet, in any Port—
Their coming mentioned—be—If spoken by the distant Bird—
-Emily Dickinson
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman—
No notice—was—to me—