About a month ago, I recieved a package that said "Caution. Open Immediately. Do not shake. This side up." Of course, I knew that it was coming, but my students on the other hand, were intrigued by all of the warnings. After much begging and excited commotion, they discovered that the box contained five small caterpillars. Over the next seven days, we observed them change daily and grow more than an inch and a half. During this time, we watched them eat, eat, eat the food that lined the bottom of their small habitat, spin webs, shed skin, poop, and just generally act like caterpillars. On the sixth day, they did the strangest thing--they started cleaning things up. They devoured everything, including their waste and webs, in preparation for the next stage. The morning of the seventh day, we came and one was hanging upside down from the lid.
Over the next two days, we watched as all five of the caterpillars formed their chrysalis. Unfortunately, this stage was pretty boring to observe; but the kids kept recording in their journals each day.
Last week, Friday kept getting closer and closer and still no butterflies. I was worried that all our work would be wasted when our "pets" emerged over the weekend. I promised my kids that I would come Saturday and Sunday to take pictures and video to post on my blog so they wouldn't miss anything. Friday, about 10:00--in the middle of finishing up my CORE tests--one of my little boys tugged on my shirt as I walked past him and pointed to the butterfly box. He said, "Look teacher, a butterfly!" I looked over, and sure enough, there was a black and orange butterfly with wet, curled up wings hanging on top of the broken chrysalis. Of course, that was the end of my testing session for a minute. We spent the next 15 mintues or so watching it flap it's wings to dry them as the kids crowded around, shoving each other out of the way so they could see. It was all very exciting. I sent the box over to the other second grade classes (we all had to share because I could only get five specimins) for them to observe. It worked out really great because all three of the second grade classes got to see a butterfly emerge that day. Well worth the wait!
We kept the butterflies in the box for about a week. Our experiment was exciting again as we watched them flap around the habitat and interact with each other. We got to see them use their "probiscus" while drinking the sugar water we fed them. On Wednesday of this week, we decided we would take all seventy five of the second graders out to let the butterflies go. We talked about how it was cruel to keep them locked up in a tiny box for their entire life (which is only about 30 days) and most of them agreed. We took them all out on the field of the playground, they gathered in a circle, and I opened the box. The butterflies, however, just sat there. After a little coaxing, I got one to fly out and instantly about 25 of the kids hopped along after it as it flapped it's wings for the first time in the wind. It was actually quite hilarious to watch them all flutter along flapping their arms and hopping after it. Eventually, all of the butterflies left the box, each with a following of seven and eight year olds in tow. The kids flitted from one dandelion to another, watching as the butterflies tasted the real nectar for the first time. They were having so much fun.
