Saturday, July 12, 2008

Butterflies


Today we went caterpillar hunting. We didn't find any, but found milkweed plants to feed our new pet "Daisy". My good friend Sherry searched high and low for little "Daisy". She lives in an aquarium tank which was the previous home to "Dorothy" and "Bulgie" the goldfish. My kids' fish survived about 4 days. I am really good at killing off fish.

It is a really cool science project, raising a caterpillar. This one is really kind of pretty, it has black, white and yellow stripes. There are tons of websites devoted to Monarch butterflies, so I can explain its life cycle to the kids. It doesn't try to escape (there is a lid) and it really just sits there and eats or sleeps. Oh, and poops. Caterpillars are really messy!

Every night my kids say goodnight to "Daisy" and tell her to have a good sleep. I think they understand that one day she will fly away. Its hard to believe looking at her now.

Well, I could think of some theological statement to make, you know "butterflies, born again, etc." But, for now, I'll just say, we had some really fun moments today, and I thank the Lord for my children and the beautiful creation He has made. I feel very thankful for all His blessing in my life.

5 comments:

CAS said...

You said you are great at killing fish. Are you sure you won't kill caterpillars as well?

Puffin said...

Oh Tina, have some faith in your big sister! Think of all the bugs that I couldn't kill off in my house when we lived in Florida! I shouldn't have any trouble keeping a caterpillar alive (Ummm, and your niece will cry, so it can't die!).

CAS said...

I just had to tease you! Actually, the kids in my class killed a caterpillar at my last job. We caught it in a container and then the container disappeared for about a week. I figured someone took it home. I found it underneath a shelf and the poor thing had molded. It was so gross!!

Puffin said...

That sounds like our tent worm experience- so gross! The kids caught at least 50 of them in a little bug cage, and then it got left out in the rain for two days. Icky! That went right in the trash! I think this one is going to make it- its a chrysalis now, which is green and actually prettier than the caterpillar was. It just hung there on the aquarium for almost 24 hours, I was wondering if it was going to become a chrysalis or just die, but it did what it was suppose too! Now we have to wait for 1 1/2 weeks for the butterfly to emerge. Your niece told your brother that it looks kinda like a leaf, which is very true! She can say chrysalis too, which is very impressive, I think.

CAS said...

That is impressive. But, that's the way it should be, after all, she is *my* niece! ;) Seriously, you really should get all the credit. Face it, you're an awesome teacher!