Sprout Scouts Playcamp: Creepy Crawlers!

They're movin' on up...

It's been a while since we've unpacked a Sprout Scouts Play Theme here and today I am so excited to launch an introduction into some of our Creepy Crawlers activities all about Bugs, Butterflies and Insects! If you've been following along with our Grow Your Own Green Thumb theme, you may be wondering what the heck happened to our Garden to Table Theme and Terrific Trees theme--they are coming, closer to the harvest season and end of summer. One thing I am truly embracing this summer is our need and desire to play and learn at our own pace and whim.

Last summer one of our very favorite activities was growing our own butterflies, and when our caterpillars arrived in the mail last week, we all decided to dive right into learning more about creepy crawlers as we wait for them to eat and grow. Now, I have to be completely honest--bugs really bug me. I am learning to embrace them, especially those helpful garden pollinators. I know I am bigger and stronger but I am not braver. I also don't want to unnecessarily impose my feelings on other, shorter members of the family. I know that learning and playing about something that frightens you is a great way to lessen fear and increase understanding, so we are learning through play with some great indoor and outdoor activities that will surely get your wings fluttering!

Suggested Materials: You certainly do NOT need all of this, and we actually found a great young naturalists backpack kit available for checkout at our local library that contained a variety of ways to observe, catch (and release), read and learn about bugs and insects! Use what you have on hand, check dollar stores and secondhand shops for the rest or borrow from friends!

• magnifying glasses
• magnifying bug boxes
• binoculars (bugs can be far away, too!)
• jars, bug containers or critter containers for catching (and releasing) bugs
• butterfly nets
• playdough (or make your own)
• pipe cleaners, google eyes, small loose craft parts
• paper, markers/crayons, scissors and other art & craft materials
• tempura paint
• butcher paper
• white coffee filters
• spray bottles
• fly swatters
• Borax & school glue for bug slime
• plastic bugs (we found ours at Dollar Tree)
• artificial flowers
• shredded craft paper in black and yellow (or the colors of your choice)
• yellow, black and white pompoms
• recycled containers
• small tongs
• optional butterfly growing kit--we like the Insect Lore kit available from Amazon
• books about bugs and insects from your local library or personal collection
• a camera to capture creepy crawlers in action!
• your nature journals to capture memories and important discoveries

OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES

Check out that Japanese beetle! He can stay
here as long as he likes, just stay away
from our vegetable garden!

Creepy Crawlers Scavenger Hunt: Grab your nets, containers, magnifying glasses and critter cages. It's time to get out there and observe our creepy crawling (or flying) friends in action! Don't forget to look up and down, to lift up and peer under rocks, to check out your flower garden and even areas that are particularly soggy and dark. Bugs and insects are EVERYWHERE. Look at the grass for a while and observe how it moves--creepy crawlers are busy at work down there and even though you may not see them, you can observe signs of their presence. Can you find an ant hill? Dig up a worm? Can you hear a cicada or a cricket? Can you spot a firefly at night? Perhaps you will take a list of bugs to search for with you or record a list in your nature journal of those you can find. Please remember that if you do capture a little critter to also let it go back into nature when you are done observing. Also remember to take proper precautions around bugs that may sting or bite, including proper clothing and coverage and not handling bugs that can be harmful to humans!

Plant a Pollinators Garden: Choose a variety of flowers that attract helpful pollinators to your garden. Zinnias, marigolds, morning glories, milkweed, dill and more will all attract butterflies, bees and even hummingbirds to your yard. You can start from seed or purchase starter plants (this time of year, many are discounted). Then step back and observe the wonder of their wonderful work...


Spot That Pollinator: One of our favorite offshoots of the Creepy Crawlers Scavenger Hunt has been observing pollinators at work in our garden and in gardens around town. We use my camera phone quite a bit to record our findings. Talk about how some bugs and insects are helpful to plants and gardens even though others are considered to be pests. Can you spot a helpful ladybug? A busy bee? Some fluttering butterflies and moths? Where do you notice them and why do you suppose that is?

Can you spot the bumblebee?

Can you spot the monarch butterfly?

Fly Swatter Painting: Outdoor messy art is one of my favorite things about summer weather! Get out, get messy, get hosed off and come in good and tired for bedtime. I don't necessarily encourage promoting the use of fly swatters in their traditional purpose with young children, but they are great for swatting and splashing colorful washable tempura paint on butcher paper set either flat on the sidewalk or taped to an outdoor wall. If you do have a hose hook-up and a wall, sidewalk or fence you don't mind painting directly on before hosing it down, you can even go paperless.

INDOOR OPTIONS
Since the caterpillars arrived, so has the rain! While waiting for those six very hungry little caterpillars to eat and eat and grow and grow, we have been busy (mostly inside) playing and learning about butterflies, bugs and insects. The boys made a welcome sign and named the caterpillars, and then it was time for some of these fun games and activities:

Pollinators Sensory Bin: We used shredded craft paper, pompoms, our plastic bug collection, some artificial flowers and recycled containers and tongs for this whimsical sensory table. Y gets a kick out of tossing the paper shreds (everywhere) and still likes to try out the tongs even though he's not quite there yet with his fine motor skills. S loves to pretend the pompoms are food for the bugs and use the tongs to collect them in containers for the bugs to eat.

Bug SLIME: Ah, what's summer without slime? And you really haven't gotten totally creepy and crawly until you're also slimy. We made up a batch of green slime and the boys had such a great time! In the past, we have used slime in our sensory table, but seeing as it was occupied housing our bees and butterflies and other pollinators, we opted for a couple of plastic trays (and no brothers fighting!) and some plastic bugs to share. Making bug prints in the slime is so much fun! S also loves to use a playdough knife with EVERY type of dough, so I added a couple of those in as well.

Butterfly Collage Decoration: We have a collection of these butterfly die-cuts from Dollar Tree a few years ago, but you can also trace and cut your own butterfly shape from construction paper. I especially love to use this as an opportunity to teach about symmetry with beginning cutters. Trace or draw the outline of half a butterfly onto folded paper and cut the shape out away from the fold. When it is opened, it will reveal the shape of a butterfly! We used glue and a variety of small loose parts from our craft stash.

Coffee Filter Butterfly Decoration: We have a collection of these pinned to the wall going up our stairs and they are so beautiful! Use washable markers to color at least a few colors onto the white coffee filter. Next, use a spray bottle with water to wet your coffee filter. The colors will bleed and blend into very colorful butterfly wings. Once the paper filter is dry, you can wrap a pipe cleaner around the center to form antennae and you've got yourself a butterfly! Or two. Or two dozen...



Playdough Invitation to Create a Bug: Pipe cleaner legs and antennae, googly eyes, beads, rhinestones and other small loose parts are all part of the fun that goes into building your own bug. It can look like a real bug or be entirely your own creation. We used a large blob of [very colorful] store-bought playdough (I know so many of you are cringing at the sight of mixed colors right now!), but you can also make your own playdough if you prefer [or stick to only one color at a time!].


Want to do more?

• Check out our other play activities about bugs & insects, bees and butterflies..
• Ask the Experts! Many garden centers, farms, science museums or botanical garden centers have living bee hives, live butterfly gardens or exhibits or at least some knowledgeable folks to answer questions about creepy crawlers. Check out some of these places in your local community to learn more--and don't forget the library!
• Print and laminate your own Beautiful Bugs Playdough Mats from Picklebums to go along with your playdough invitation.
• We are loving this huge free printable pack, "I is for Insects" available from Scribd. We added several of the action rhymes and activities to our Ever-changing Book:

Here is the Beehive Action Rhyme and Felt-board Set (we use both with and without a felt board)

Bug & Insect Action Cards--such a fun way to get moving indoors or outside!

• Lazy Day Coloring Book Art is a great way to spice up a rainy afternoon and use some art materials you likely have on hand. I love using "adult coloring books" with young children (and adults). We found some really beautiful floral designs at Dollar Tree. Even though I'm sure many would balk at me using coloring books at all (what about PROCESS ART???), I think they have their place. Certainly the fine motor aspect of coloring within a designated space is useful as children develop, but I also love to include some materials besides the classic crayons or colored pencils. We got out our watercolor pencils and some bee and butterfly stickers to design some pollinator gardens to hang inside! Y liked to use a foam brush with water and go over his pencil marks (almost to their exclusion!) and S liked to dip the pencils right in the water and observe the vibrant color. The boys each stuck on some butterfly and bumblebee stickers (Y needed help) and we hung them to dry and look at instead of gazing longingly out the rain covered windows...

As I am finishing up this post, our seemingly sunny afternoon has given way to more rain and thunder! So happy for our garden, so sad for our plans to do fly swatter painting outside--but alas, the great indoors is full of other ways to have fun playing about creepy crawlers and we even have six very hungry caterpillars to watch as we wait out the weather. We'll be back soon! Until then...

Bug OFF! I mean, Happy Playing!

DIY: Make Your Own Ever-changing Book

Are you a classroom teacher or play & learn at home parent looking for a fresh new way to approach the classical approach to "circle time?" Do you have children ranging in ages under your care? Do you work or live with children who are very active or are you looking for ways to bring more structured activities with you on the go? Meet the Ever-changing Book--the perfect DIY for you and your little ones! 

Now, before I begin, let me give credit where credit is due! This is not entirely my own idea, but rather was adapted from a tool used by a local librarian we met at a toddler story time yesterday. Some friends will recommend a story time they think your children will enjoy, but true friends know to recommend a story time they think you will enjoy. A friend of mine steered us toward this particular librarian who used to teach in a Montessori school as she felt I would appreciate her approach and style. I was so impressed with her demeanor, pace and style that I worked up the courage to chat with her afterward (yes, I get starstruck when I meet a cool teacher, librarian or author). One of the most unique materials she introduced to the children was her own Ever-changing Book, a 12 x 12 photo/scrapbook album with letter sound songs and pictures in each page. She adapts her book to introduce a set of letters and letter sounds to her audience. Well, the gears were already turning in my head and truthfully, even if S hadn't asked to make our own Ever-changing Book and have "story time at home," I would already have driven five miles above the speed limit, 55% off coupon in hand to the craft supply store that evening to start our own version!

Our Ever-changing Book reflects our current play theme of butterflies, bugs and insects. Letters are something we are always exploring and learning about, and this can be theme related, too, even if it is an activity you do year round. I have also included a fun fact sheet about butterflies...

When S and I did home preschool, we often did some version of a circle time or rug time activity. I was less likely to really work on being seated and stationary in these times and many times, our morning songs and routines were done in transition or on the go. I knew as a teacher and as a parent that S and all young children have a life ahead of them in which they will need to "sit still" and "pay attention." I also knew as a teacher and as a parent that just like we focus in these early years on emergent literacy by exposing children to a larger skill set that leads to reading, so, too, do we expose children to a larger skill set that leads to sitting still. And these skills are developed through moving!

Songs, poems and action rhymes encourage rhythm and movement whether you are indoors or outside! Some songs are seasonal and others theme related. There are many songs we sing daily, year-round, particularly ones related to daily prayers. Visual aids (like pictures) and small, flat props can be included with those as well.

Lastly, I also knew that both in my smaller classroom settings and in our own home setting, having all of our "circle time" activities and props available in one convenient location is not always possible or convenient. This meant either moving about the room (not such a bad thing) or schlepping materials in baskets and bins as we needed them. Often this would interrupt the routine and flow of our time together. And when I looked at some of the components of the traditional circle time and the setting in which we were doing it, it simply didn't make a lot of sense. Talking about the weather indoors and no where near a window, made no sense! We should be observing that outside. And trying to incorporate music and movement in a smaller seated space didn't work as well as it did in a larger, more open space. More and more I also observed the need for children to have things they could touch and manipulate during seated group times, but there was still a separation between their materials and mine.

Both boys love this action rhyme that incorporates counting and early math skills. The laminated butterfly stick puppets are a wonderful prop to include--I just google searched some images and clip art I liked of butterflies to cut out and include.

The Ever-changing Book seemed to address all of these concerns and more! It is kind of a "busy-binder" meets circle time, crossbred with a classroom bulletin board! I had to resist the urge to go completely overboard and pull an all-nighter as ideas on what to include swarmed my brain. I decided that for all involved, a well rested Mommy and an introduction of just a few pages at first were best for everyone. Here's a look at what we used, what we've included so far, and what we may add in as time goes on...this is, after all, an Ever-changing Book!

You Will Need:

• a photo album, scrapbook or binder with sheet protectors--you'll want something you can alter (so no sticky pages--though you could even create a book of felt and use velcro)
• paper, cardstock--I found a great discount on clearance scrapbook sets and had a coupon for the album itself and walked out with two $20 paper packs and a scrapbook all for under $25!
• laminating machine (optional)--I prefer to laminate my materials for durability 

What You Might Want to Include:

• printed/handwritten songs, fingerplays and action rhymes including ones you sing daily or ones that are specific to your theme or the season
• themed or seasonal artwork
• current/theme-related artwork done by the children
• current photos of your children or family doing theme or season related activities--these can be used to tell a social story or simply to start conversations about what you're up to at home or in the classroom
• small, flat props like laminated shapes, letters, numbers, sand letters and numbers, stick puppets/pointers etc. that can be used in songs and rhymes or otherwise manipulated by the children in simple puzzles or matching games 
• printed stories and poems to incorporate in story telling
• visual aids and charts that can accompany daily songs, prayers or poems
• a countdown page or photo/picture page related to an upcoming holiday, event or family trip
• insert pages and a dry erase marker that older children can use to practice writing letters, numbers, their names, words, shapes, line-tracing, etc.
• gross motor games/action cards

I've really shied away from the traditional "calendar time" approach used so often in early childhood classrooms. While learning about time, the date, month and season are all important, learning about them repeatedly out of context does not necessarily prove to be helpful in the long term. Many students even by the age of five still struggle with the concept of days of the week, yesterday and today in context but can recite them by rote in a song. Heck, even as an adult I often don't know what day it is! But I do love including relevant seasonal photos, art, and a season related song or poem. We talk about other aspects of the calendar and weather in context as we are going about our daily routines and activities.

It can be really tempting to go overboard and include EVERYTHING right away, especially if you are me! It is OK and even good to have some blank pages here and to go with the mantra that less is more. The greatest benefits of this model are that it is transportable and that it is ever-changing! You want to be able to grab it and go without breaking your back. And just like a traditional book that is too long won't maintain a child's attention, neither will an ever-changing book that is too long. 

And how often should you change your ever-changing book? I like the idea of certain things remaining the same as others change so that there is always an aspect of familiarity. You might pull things out and swap others in as your theme changes. We're exploring butterflies, bugs and insects here this week, so our letter page and fingerplay are butterfly related. We'll change those out when our theme changes. Some of our other songs are related to the season we are in--those we would swap out as Fall arrives. 

Our aleph-beis chart and pointer are something I'd include year round, though we may change out our chart or prop at some point should the inspiration strike. We are also working on creating our own sand letters to include a few at a time in a page. These are great for tactile recognition and pre-writing.

Repetition is the essence of learning and while novelty has its place and appeal, repeating familiar songs and routines helps children to feel secure in their environment and to process new material. And particularly when working with mixed age groups, repeating familiar activities has developmental appeal to everyone! S can take on the role of "leader" in activities he is proficient in at his age and build confidence along with competence. Y is gaining a great deal of verbal language right now, so repeating songs and rhymes is essential. If you are working with mixed ages, you can also include age/developmentally specific pages for each of your little ones.

So, now that you've got your Ever-changing Book, how should you use it? Well, that's up to you! But here are a few ideas:

• Create a Familiar Routine Around It: I like to use a wood chime to call children to quiet attention in my classrooms and sometimes even at home. This can signify the beginning of a "circle time" or "group time" or "cozy time" (whatever you choose to call it) whether you are at home/in the classroom or out and about. The familiarity of chime and of the book will let the children know that this is the activity whether or not the time and location of the activity are the same. 
• Use it in a Familiar Space: Perhaps you sit at the table together or maybe you have a special rug or room, chair or couch. You can make a habit and routine of using your Ever-changing Book in a particular location or even at a particular time of day. You can also break it up into multiple time slots, especially if you're short on time or your little ones seem disinterested at a particular point.
• Take It Along With You: This is one of the great bonuses of this model. You can take it to the yard, to the park, on your family vacation or field trip. One of the greatest challenges teachers and beginning homeschool parents have when getting started is getting everyone together in one place at one time. This is why I love the Ever-changing Book. It can go where the action is, it can be opened when children are engaged and closed when they are not.
• Troubleshooting: Don't be discouraged if this new material is met with less enthusiasm than you'd expected. New things can be disconcerting for little ones. If your little one(s) wanders off after a minute or two, consider trying again later or tomorrow. If over the course of a few tries, their attention is not engaged, you might want to include less or change up what's inside. Does your little one respond to music? Include more songs? Does she like to hold something? Include more props? Is he very mobile and active? Take it with you to a space that is big enough for movement and focus on movement games and songs interspersed with more stationary ones.
• Older children: Older children may benefit from their own Ever-changing Book that is used more independently (think more busy-binder style). These are great for quiet times, waiting times and (for non-motion sick children) travel times.

Check back in for more ideas to include in your Ever-changing Book as we will be making updates as we go along. Until then...

Happy Playing!

It's Mad Science Monday and We're Growing Butterflies! Part II

It's Mad Science Monday and I thought I'd welcome you back into our playroom to take a peek at our progress in growing our own painted lady butterflies. This kit we purchased was well worth the money and the experience has been as much fun for the adult scientists in the house as it is for the younger ones! We have had such a blast watching our caterpillars eat and grow and eat and grow. They were several times their size by the time we took this photo (left) on Day 9! Between Days 7 and 10, the very hungry caterpillars work their way to the top of the jar and hang in the shape of a letter J as they prepare to make their last molt and turn into a chrysalis, the pupa stage of metamorphosis.

S loves to see the caterpillars each day and even to hold the container when given the opportunity (although he needs support to not tip it upside down or drop it!). He talks about caterpillars and butterflies all the time, creating "pupas" and "caterpillars" out of playdough, biting pretzels into the shape of a butterfly and requesting to read books we've checked out of the library on the subject. Reading together has been one great part of this extended science study.

We have also made use of our preschool journals to document the process in a variety of ways. One of my favorites is to print and incorporate photos of our journey into his journal and allow him the opportunity to dictate/draw his observations and predictions. Our journals are such a treasure already after spending just the last year working in them. While I have done a lot of journal work with older preschoolers (4-5), this was my first experience with the toddler age range and I am so tickled by how much skill and comprehension S has demonstrated over just this last year. His doodles have emerged into story lines and representations of objects as he dictates the words he would like me to add. I never push the process and he is very young for writing at this point. I encourage it and at times he even takes his journal out independently to use it. I am sure he will also grow to treasure this memoir of our year together!

He was excited to begin drawing/dictating on the morning I set out this journal prompt with two photos of our caterpillars taken on Days 3 and 7. He dictated as he drew about how his caterpillars have grown so big and what will be happening next. He especially enjoys prompts with photos we take at home--especially if he is in the picture, too!

Dramatic play is another wonderful way to incorporate play into learning about science. We wondered what it would be like to be a caterpillar. After a very hungry S finished his breakfast, we decided to build a chrysalis for him! I have seen this activity done with toilet paper but wanted a less wasteful option for us at home. I used a sheet and wrapped him up in his chrysalis. 

Next, I got out a butterfly wand we had in our dress up collection and POOF! he emerged from his chrysalis a big, beautiful butterfly! (The magic in our butterfly wand allowed us to speed up the pupa stage so he didn't have to be stuck in that chrysalis for so many days!)

 But a big, beautiful butterfly is simply not so convincing without a set of big, beautiful butterfly wings! Using a large rectangle of felt, I pre-cut the shape of butterfly wings for S to decorate with foam stickers. He had so much fun peeling paper from the stickers and sticking them on his wings. He decided the circles represented "eggs" that would hatch into more caterpillars! (He also requested one pink circle on his shirt for a second belly button...that's my boy!)

Peeling stickers for sticking is a great fine motor activity! Many children need help with this process, however I try to resist the urge to automatically do it for them unless they demonstrate frustration or ask for help. 

My handsome butterfly on the flutter!

Now we are eagerly awaiting the next stage of metamorphosis here. We are so excited to observe the caterpillars in their chrysalis form as they harden and prepare for the next fascinating stage--emerging as fully grown painted lady butterflies! We hope you'll join us on our journey and until then...

Reading while we wait...

Happy Playing!

Beyond the Book: Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

We are BIG Eric Carle fans here, and since we are learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly right now, it's a perfect time to incorporate one of our favorite books of his, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In fact, my older reader has liked this book since he could first get his hands, er, mouth on it! Now a new little literacy lover has joined the family to share in our love of this book. We even have an infant-friendly soft copy and caterpillar rattle that was a baby gift from Big Brother's infant days!

This morning, Big Brother couldn't wait to see our caterpillars, who have been in the house for three days now. They are, indeed, already getting bigger and bigger!

Day 3

Table Time was already set up with a simple journal prompt using cut outs of a caterpillar and a butterfly (Dollar Tree) and a story prompt. My son was eager to invite his Tatty to draw with him even before he ate his breakfast. Later, he dictated his story to me. He has been enjoying hands-on exploration and play with our theme related toys and materials and talks a lot about various aspects of the lifecycle of a butterfly--many of which he learned and remembers from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Carle's classic and beautiful illustrations help dictate the story of this life cycle as a caterpillar hatches from an egg, eats and grows and eats and grows, builds a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly! The story also incorporates counting and days of the week--two important developmental target skills for preschoolers, as the Very Hungry Caterpillar increases his food consumption by one item over the course of a week.

We've had our board book copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar handy on our shelf throughout our gardening unit and my toddler has requested to read it together daily. He certainly knows it well enough now to "read" along! Today, I brought it out during our morning circle time and we sat by our flannel board. As I read the story, I used a flannel board set I had constructed several years ago while I was teaching. I printed some images and drew/cut out others. You can create your own set in this way or even check out some of the great free printables and activity ideas that are listed on this fellow blogger's post. Sometimes we also retell the story using toy food and our toy caterpillar. Retelling children's books using props and felt board sets is a great way to spice up an old favorite or to introduce a new book while appealing to a variety of learning styles.

He loved retelling the story on his own afterward! If you'd like to introduce a great theme-related fine motor activity to a preschooler and make your own flannel board set at the same time, provide your printed and/or cut out fruits and foods along with a hole puncher for cutting out caterpillar "bites!" Squeezing a hole punch is a great way to build those little muscles in the hands!

Next it was time for our little craft activity. There are so many wonderful arts and crafts ideas related to Eric Carle's beautifully illustrated books. You can explore ideas all across the internet and in resource books. Since we are in the process of growing our own butterflies right now, I decided to combine that lesson with our target story in this cute little Lifecycle of a Very Hungry Caterpillar collage. I created our vocabulary sentence strips in advance and a sample. We used a combination of stickers and items cut from construction paper. You can do the same or draw your own pictures. You can print images from the computer and I have even seen the lifecycle of a butterfly depicted in dry pasta and beans. In the past when I have done this project with students I have done combinations of all of the above. For the sake of my own little guy, I pre-cut our shapes today, wrote on the associated vocabulary words and let him have fun with the gluing and sticking stickers. I am most often a fan of process art over these types of "cookie cutter" projects, however, there are important skills that are developed through following a sequence of directions and being able to copy and recreate from an original sample. I do not "force" him to recreate his project exactly as my sample is and rather use language like "this is how I made mine, but you can make yours how you like." Over the course of my working with children of a variety of ages, some like to do their own thing, some like to copy exactly (and some get frustrated if/when they cannot) and others do a combination of both. My son falls into the combo category!

He is quite proud of his work!

We had a great time reading, playing and crafting about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and it was a great extension activity for our current learning theme. Want to read some more great Eric Carle books related to gardening and creepy crawlers? Check out

• The Very Lonely Firefly
• The Very Grouchy Ladybug
• The Very Busy Spider

and

• The Tiny Seed

You will likely be able to find copies in your local library! Until then...

Happy Playing!

Mad Science Monday: We're Growing Butterflies!

We found this great life cycle of a butterfly wheel at
the Dollar Tree last fall and are tracking the days of the process of
observing our own caterpillars grow into butterflies...

 BIG news here just in time for Mad Science Monday! We'd like to welcome to our family five new friends: "Yisroel," "Menachem," "Pete the Cat[erpillar]," "Flamingo," and "Very Hungry," our brand new baby caterpillars. We are trying our hands at growing our own butterflies! My slightly older junior scientist assisted in naming the first four caterpillars. I initially did not see the fifth caterpillar, who was hiding under the lid of the larva jar in our kit when it arrived this morning, so I took the liberty of naming him myself once I finally discovered his whereabouts!

We bought our kit from Amazon.com, however many garden
shops likely carry caterpillars if you prefer to buy locally.

I initially thought about purchasing a butterfly kit last summer when my then younger toddler become obsessed with the butterfly exhibit at our local botanical gardens. He was casually known as "The Butterfly Boy" by the lovely volunteers in the exhibit, which features beautiful live butterflies and moths fluttering around a beautiful greenhouse room and several small exhibits of caterpillars in various stages of metamorphosis. We visited almost every week and he always wanted to see the butterflies. I resisted buying the kit even though it was on his birthday wish list as I worried he might be sad when it was time to release the fully grown butterflies.
Fast forward to this year and, in spite of loving butterflies in theory and out in nature, my now older toddler was terrified in the exhibit he loved so much last summer. We took a family trip on a nice warm weekday over the Pesach break and everyone was eager to see the butterflies...until we actually went through the exhibit. There were some school children on a field trip, so we waited longer than usual and then the room was rather more crowded than we were used to. The part that really sealed the deal for my previous butterfly fan was when two lovely moths landed on my skirt (unbeknownst to me at the time) and my little guy became very afraid they might land on him. It did not matter how much I told him they were not hurting me and that they are very gentle. He is very much in the age and stage of being fearful of animals coming toward him, making unexpected noises or, worst of all, touching him. This makes our trips to the zoo and botanical gardens and farms and even around the neighborhood a little more anxiety-ridden than they once were. It is a normal childhood anxiety and one we both validate and simultaneously try to work through. I took both the boys back to the gardens a few weeks later and Big Brother was adamant that he did not want to see the butterflies that day. In an amazing display of awesome parenting, I bribed him with a butterfly kit to try one more time...
Perhaps I should have listened to that and accepted it right away. A part of me, however, really wanted for him to have the confidence-building experience of working through his anxiety. I suggested we try it again to see if he still felt as nervous and explained to him that many times when we are nervous about something, practicing it again and again can help us to feel less worried. We got into the building, we got into the entry room and that is, I am afraid, as far as we got! He cried and cried and while the volunteers offered a stool to watch from the outside and I tried to gently encourage him to try walking through just one more time, I had to pick him up (while wearing Little Brother) and haul him out of there like a football! Part of me was frustrated because he had so loved this exhibit last year and I could not help but feel sad for the "step back" this resembled to me. And then I took a step back. Childhood anxieties are normal--even when they do not occur in a chronological time frame. Time, in fact, means very little to toddlers! Ever seen one get dressed and ready to go at a turtle's pace when you're in a morning rush? To push my little guy beyond his comfort zone in a way that is too harsh and too fast would not only damage his relationship to those butterflies more significantly, it would potentially also damage his relationship with me and his own self confidence.

a themed snack after our
last visit to the gardens

I also recalled many of my own childhood anxieties. I was terrified of thunder storms. No amount of cute explaining helped at all. G-d bowling? Nope. Offers of ice cream? No, thanks! Benadryl so everyone could get some sleep? Well--you get the picture. And the one thing that made me feel OK about thunder storms (and now even love them) was understanding the science behind them through a well written book by one of my favorite figures of all time, Mr. Rogers. On the car ride home, we talked about our favorite parts of the trip. I didn't even mention the butterfly incident. "I no see butterflies today," my toddler announced a bit nervously. "You didn't feel up to seeing them today. That's OK. We can try again another time if you'd like, when you feel ready." We talked about things that make us feel nervous and I told him about how I used to be afraid of thunder and how understanding it made me feel less nervous. I asked him if he thought understanding butterflies might make him feel less nervous? He felt sure it would! We decided to learn about them at home and to borrow books from the library. We also decided to buy a butterfly kit and grow our own butterflies at home, where we could look at them through a container like our pet fish and they would not fly all around the room.

Our playroom is set up to learn and play about butterflies, flowers and gardening!

Our caterpillars arrived with our butterfly kit today right as we sat down for lunch. He seems quite comfortable with the caterpillars so far (comfortable enough to hold the container while he's eating his yogurt!) and we were both excited to read through some of the literature in the kit as well as a book on Painted Lady Butterflies (the type we are growing) that we had borrowed from our local library!

We set out to naming our new little friends and started journaling about the process...

We will be learning about the life-cycle of a butterfly both in real time and through some learning materials, like these sentence strips I made (with pictures), which can be used side by side (as shown) or on a metal ring.

Join us later this week when we make this fun Life Cycle of a Very Hungry Caterpillar craft!

The truth is that my son may not overcome his fear of animals right now. He may not go back into that exhibit this year. And that is OK. We will work with him in comfortable increments to understand the things that scare him. And for now, playing and learning about (and growing) butterflies at home is a safe and fun way to do that.

 We will keep you posted on our journey here from caterpillar to butterfly...until then, happy playing!