meta-morph-osis

For Corbin's birthday he got a special present from Quinton.
A Butterfly Garden.
We sent in for the live bugs and both boys have LOVED watching and participating in the whole
META-MORPH-OSIS process. I think we have all learned a lot. When the "bugs" arrived they were fuzzy caterpillars (not sure where those pictures are, sorry). We watched them eat, eat, and EAT for about a week and then one day they were all hanging from the top of the cup they came in. Soon they turned into chrysalis'!

Corbin was so excited to see that it was "working"! We received 5 caterpillars, but only 4 made it to the chrysalis stage. One died somehow... but it was a good teaching moment... and the boys were fine with it.

The chrysalis' literally hung around for about a week and then one Sunday after church we came home and they were BUTTERFLIES! Corbin got to stay up late and feed them flowers, oranges, and sugar water that night. He also made a Science Journal (like Sid the Science Kid-PBS show) and after he'd observe them each day he'd draw pictures of what he saw.

These butterflies were painted ladies and these pictures don't show off their beautiful colors.... or their long black straw-like tongues they drank with.

After a week of feeding and observing the butterflies we convinced Corbin that they really needed to be released. He really didn't want to let them go. So one afternoon he asked me if we could free his butterflies....

so we did!

But, not after one of them kept landing on the grass and coming back to the tree above our heads. I told Corbin it was because she was saying thank you and she didn't want to leave him.

He liked that idea so he decided to catch her and give her a proper goodbye.... A kiss for his painted lady butterfly!

Then she flew away....
Needless to say the boys are very interested in all kinds of bugs now and are catching them. Like worms, Rollie-Pollies, grasshoppers, etc. They are also very observant and happy whenever they see a butterfly flutter by.... because they know what kind of metamorphosis they've been through!