Monarch butterflies are known for migrating to warmer weather. They are orange to warn others that they are. not safe to eat. They created their own butterfly using a butterfly template and paint sticks!

A moth is similar to a butterfly. They both have a hairy body, wings and antennae. Moths can be seen more at night. 
Moths are often blamed for holes in fabrics and sweaters, but it is their larvae who are the actual culprits. The caterpillars eat through materials, such as silk, cashmere and wool, because they contain the fibrous protein, keratin. During this Invitation to Create, the children explored creating holes like moth caterpillars. By experimenting with tools and their own hands the children discovered different ways to create holes, then decided what to do with them. The end results of this process are distinctly different and show the children's creative thinking. 

This is the last stage of the life cycle. A butterfly's wings have symmetry, which means both wings are the same design. There are 17,500 species of butterflies in the world.

When a butterfly is encased in a chrysalis, they will go through metamorphosis. As a butterfly comes out, its body squeezes and releases liquid, which helps the wings dry out. 

Caterpillars are the soft-bodied insects that belong to the order Lepidoptera. Caterpillars like to stay on leaves to keep away from the birds and other animals that might eat them. They created a caterpillar sculpture using starch noodles, markers, and twist ties. 
For literacy, they took turns drawing a letter card, found the matching leaf and punched a hole (ate through the leafs) with a hole punch! This is a great activity to strengthen the muscles in their hands.  
For math they rolled a pocket cube, identified the shape, found the matching shape and we created a really long caterpillar!

Butterflies lay eggs on and under leaves to keep them safe and hidden. Our first activity, I explained we were going to make our eggs white.  They took turns dipping one finger into white paint, then pressing onto the leaf and then we counted the number of eggs on the leaf.  For literacy, they took turns opening an egg, identifying the letter written on the paper inside the egg, making the sound and writing the letter on our poster. For math, we sorted eggs by size.  Their final project was to create eggs on a leaf. A butterfly's life cycle starts with an egg on a leaf, then in time, a caterpillar hatches. The leaf helps protect the eggs and will also be eaten by the caterpillar as its first meal. During this Invitation to Create, the children used their creativity ideas to lay their butterfly eggs on a leaf. Through this open-ended process, the children planned, designed and created based on their own ideas. It is important for children to engage in positive art experiences and understand there is not a right or wrong way to be creative! 
And of course, they did some work in their fine motor journals! 

The idea of a caterpillar changing into a beautiful butterfly is fascinating to young learners. Learning about the life cycle of a butterfly during the early years is an important and basic life science concept. The life cycle is a wonderful way to show children how things grow and change into something different. From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly; children begin to see how a life cycle works. This simple example of complex concept allows children to explore the idea of beginning, middle and end. As children learn and explore metamorphosis, they can also begin to relate it back to themselves. They can reflect on how they were born, what changes they have seen and how they will grow and change in the future. 

We celebrated one birthday this month!  Happy birthday Emmerson!

Hornets are wasps and make nests in high places. Their nests have papery texture and can be found in trees or under a roof.