We made little caterpillars with chenille stems by wrapping them around a pencil. We cut out leaves for them to munch on. And punched holes to show where they've nibbled. (find this craft here.)
And then one day...about 10 days after their arrival...our first chrysalis. 4.18.08
We colored a Butterfly Life Cycle chart. 4.22.08
We used a hot plate covered with foil to draw with melting crayons. When we hung our butterflies up on the window, the sun made them glow. 4.24.08
And then...our butterflies hatched. First just one. Like the chrysalis. Then the next four all at once. 4.28.08
We took a nature walk in the yard looking for flowers with the trumpet shapes. We gathered them and put them in our Butterfly Garden.
The butterflies liked the Bird of Paradise. Mom dripped some sugar water into the cup shape of the bloom.
We did another butterfly craft. Luke practiced reading a chart. 4.30.08
And finally, it was time to let the butterflies go. We released them into our yard. And the next day, a few of them were still hanging around. I'm sure they were happy with our plants that were chosen because the make good food for butterflies and humming birds. 5.1.08
