There was only one way to start our butterfly journey; and that is with its amazing life cycle.
So we started with a book; and the best book for this (in my opinion) has to be:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
If you have not read this book before, you won’t be disappointed - little kids love it!
The animated film is also a favourite in my house; it is a lovely watch.
“My favourite bit is when the caterpillar turned into a butterfly!” - Jared
We found some amazing resources
from the Munching Caterpillars website; here we found more about the life cycle; a great print-out of common UK butterflies & their caterpillars and some colouring pages to do.
After Jared and I familiarised ourselves with the butterflies we might see in Castlemilk Park ( I will share these on another post) , Jared designed his very own caterpillar.
“My Caterpillar will turn into a Peacock butterfly because it has spots.” - Jared
Print off your own sheets from here; use random bits of paper, cut-out shapes from old magazines, basically use whatever you can find to decorate. We even used some twigs from our ‘nature collection’. You can give your caterpillar a name; ask your child what colour will the butterfly be, has it got a species name? We had so much fun with this!
While we were cutting up our old magazines, we came across a caterpillar paper chain make! You can make one at home by using any paper cut into strips, glue together in a chain & add a cut-out caterpillar head. I can imagine googly eyes on ours next time!
We are going to stick with the life cycle for a wee while yet- stay tuned for learning about the life cycle through movement - Jared has yoga to share with you! I will also be doing an activity with Jared that highlights the importance of caterpillars within the food chain.
Rearing a caterpillar is also on the agenda; Jared has been hunting for one with Dad every day during his daily exercise; but we’ve had no luck yet - please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Thank you for all your lovely comments guys - We love reading them!
HI kids loved the pine cone art brilliant work Jared loved the butterfly and bat you so clever keep up the great work look forward to next post of what you been up to I am planting flowers to encourage the butterflies and bees into my wee garden will try to get pictures for you if and when they visit
Very interesting indeed. Will let you know when the Butterfly Farm opens again.
I am trying to get a bee and insect house at the moment !
“My favourite bit is when the caterpillar turned into a butterfly!” - Jared - that's my favourite bit too.
Love Lana xx
Oh my goodness this is the cutest thing! The hungry caterpillar is a favourite in our house too! Levi looks like he is enjoying his story from his big brother.
Well done Jared, what a lovely caterpillar!! I hope you are successful on the hunt for a real one. Looking forward to seeing his yoga moves xxx
Enjoyed this post Jared really looks like he working hard and enjoying his project well done kids