Butterfly Home School Project

We have had many ups and down this home school year but even I learned something from this little project that we did with caterpillars. Great things take time, great things are worth waiting for and eventually we will grow into the amazing creature that God intended us to become.

We were gifted a butterfly garden kit and ordered the caterpillars separately. This was such special lesson. The girls have been trying to catch butterflies since they were probably two. We even visited the butterfly museum in downtown Houston with hopes to have one land on us. The fun we had with these beautiful creatures has been long lasting and with just a few chrysalises left, we will be sad when it ends. We even went the extra mile and scoured Lowe’s for discount flowers for a butterfly garden.

Fresh out of the Mail Box

After about a week, ready to form

Chrysalis stage

We received our caterpillars in two or three days. We set them in a cool place out of direct sun and over the course of a week they grew about five times their original size. Their food is in the bottom of the container. By far the easiest pets we have had in a while. The girls checked them everyday and soon we saw them crawling to the top preparing to form their chrysalis. While we were waiting our trips to the library had one theme. We found quite a few informative books on butterflies and their life cycle as well as found printouts online. We also watched a Netflix documentary Disney Nature ‘Wings of Life.’ The girls have learned so much and I definitely recommend this project for children of any age. I linked a few books as well as the Insect Lore Butterfly Kit. This is a great gift and my girls would love getting more caterpillars.

It was a dream come true for these little ladies to raise and then release butterflies. They were a bit sad to watch them fly away. “Will they ever come back?’ they asked. I smiled thinking about how raising children are a little like raising butterflies. “We can only hope and pray that we raised them well enough to survive on their own and one day we may see them again playing in our garden.”