Week One with our Painted Lady Butterflies

Day 4

The students have been very excited to witness the daily growth and changes in our butterflies.  They have been getting up close and personal using the magnifying glasses to see what is happening to the caterpillars in their tiny and temporary habitat.

When asked what they saw, this is what the JK's observed:

• the two of them together are becoming friends
• they are moving and eating and becoming butterflies
• they are black and chubby
• they are eating food because they are hungry just like in the story

When asked what they were eating for food they said, "caterpillar grow up food."  The JK's also explored the app we have on the iPad called 'Butterfly HD' to learn more about the lifecycle.

The SK observations:

• we saw the caterpillars stretched out (measured about 35 mm)
• they have little yellow stripes
• they are mostly black
• they are eating lots
• we can see lots of legs
• we looked for the eyes and mouth with the magnifying glass
• we think we saw their skin that they shed because they are getting bigger
• we can see webs and it looks wet inside the container
• we think that they are using suction cups to attach to the side and top of the container

The caterpillars are getting bigger and bigger each day and we should see them form a chrysalis in the next couple days as the larvae stage is 7-10 days.

Day 7