Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl
Butterfly investigations – a new project
Over the past two weeks, the children in all three groups have been learning about and investigating butterflies. The children’s creativity has been sparked using many different materials – playdough, challah dough, clay, paint, drawing, collage, using leaves, patterning and through dance and drama. These investigations have been in preparation for the arrival of our butterfly chrysalis kits.
We wanted to know what knowledge and understanding the children already have, so that we can build upon their knowledge and go deeper:
Hudson: They don’t have bones. But they do have antennas.
Abbie: They have colour on the wings.
Rose: They suck the flowers.
Winnie: They flap their wings.
Ella: I know that some butterflies don’t have their beautiful colours, but they are still beautiful.
Alma: I know that they’re colourful. There are different types of butterflies around the world.
Oscar: They get honey from a flower.
Juliette: They come from a cocoon. A caterpillar is inside the cocoon. Butterflies lay eggs then the eggs turn into caterpillars.
Milo: Caterpillars go into a cocoon and then they turn into a butterfly
Samara: Butterflies come from cocoons. Butterflies are red, blue and orange.
Raphael: Butterflies have stamens and moths don’t.
Neave: Moths don’t drink nectar and butterflies do.
Noa: Caterpillars turn into butterflies
Edison: Butterflies have bigger wings than moths.
Last Thursday, our beautiful butterfly kits arrived in the post. Each group finally got to closely observe their chrysalis (cocoons) in the butterfly cage:
Aria: I think it is a butterfly.
Itamar: A caterpillar.
Jesse G: A dinosaur maybe. I don’t know. A tiny dinosaur.
Evie: It’s actually real. A caterpillar.
Jesse P: That is a cocoon.
Jordan: I know what’s inside. It’s a caterpillar because it’s in the caterpillar book.
Sofia: They have beautiful wings.
Alma: I like all the colours and I like how they fly in summer.
Witnessing the real life cycle of a butterfly, from the chrysalis to the fully formed butterfly, sparks a sense of curiosity and wonder in children. It provides a first hand experience of the natural world and captures their imaginations. We discussed how animals go through changes in appearance, just like the seasons change. This curiosity fosters a love for learning, as they seek to understand the scientific principles behind metamorphosis. Witnessing this incredible life cycle instils a sense of respect and appreciation for nature, as children develop deeper understanding of the interconnectedness and beauty of living organisms.
Ziggy explained to us that butterflies can taste by walking. We did not know this interesting fact.
Ziggy: If a butterfly walks over cupcake, they will taste it, and if we walk over a cupcake, it will just smoosh to pieces.
After much discussion and lots of questions the children all agreed that since we have two chrysalises, in each cage, two butterflies will hatch from each cage. We wondered what colour the butterflies may be?
Ella suggested to place the butterfly cage somewhere high up where it can’t have any sun. We learnt the chrysalis had to be away from the sunlight.
We provoked the children’s thinking deeper, by asking them to explain what symmetry means:
Ziggy: I don’t know what symmetry is, but I know what metamorphosis is.
Educator: Symmetry is when something looks the same on both sides.
Why do you think the colours and patterns on the butterflies’ wings are symmetrical?
Ziggy: To make the wings the same structure, so other butterflies know it’s from the same group, otherwise they’ll get confused. A pattern is 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3.
This investigation will continue, as we wait patiently for the butterflies to hatch out of the chrysalis and we discover and learn by close observation, discussion and sharing of ideas, as well as through our beautiful creative art works.
