๐Ÿฆ‹ Kindergarten Students Explore the Wonders of Metamorphosis
Rachel Ahitow and Kaitlyn McKenna, SK 108
This spring, as our students began to witness the changes that were taking place in nature outside of our classroom window, incredible changes were taking place right inside our classroom as well! During our insect study this month, students had the opportunity to watch butterflies move through the beautiful process of metamorphosis. The change from a crawling caterpillar to a gracefully airborne butterfly is nothing short of a miracle. 
The excitement was palpable when our tiny butterfly larvae (caterpillars) arrived. Our students watched intently over the first few days as the tiny caterpillars crawled around in the small plastic jar sitting on our classroom counter. Our little entomologists recorded their observations by sketching in their insect journals. Over the next few days, the larvae grew larger and larger. Children showed incredible protectiveness towards these tiny living creatures as the caterpillars grew and changed. Students showed any visitor who came into our classroom “their” caterpillars. They kindly warned them to be careful with the jar as the caterpillars are very fragile. Children became very involved and checked daily on the caterpillars to see if there had been any changes. Then, one morning, students arrived to find that the caterpillars had moved to the top of the jar and had formed into chrysalids (pupa stage). This was a very exciting moment for our kindergarteners! After the chrysalids had been carefully moved to their butterfly haven, our students watched and waited patiently for our butterflies to emerge. We saw their curiosity and gentleness as they observed the insects with magnifying glasses so they could see the chrysalids up close. Students applied their scientific observation skills by observing the entire process unfold before their eyes.  Finally, the day arrived when our students came to school to find five beautiful painted lady butterflies flying around in their butterfly haven! What an amazing experience for our students to have watched the process of metamorphosis right in our very own classroom. That week, on a beautiful sunny spring day, we all went outside together to release our butterflies. We sat in a circle with the butterfly haven in the middle for all to see. After sitting in the warm sun reading a butterfly book together, we watched our butterflies fly off into the sky. While we were sad to see them go, we were thrilled to have been able to enjoy this miraculous experience together!    

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