This last week in April we will continue learning about birds and nests, and we will add caterpillars. Our fuzzy, little caterpillar turned in to a moth two weekends ago. A week early for this curriculum theme, but I am guessing he did not read the yearly themes! The Woolly Bear Caterpillar turns into an Isabella Tiger Moth So cool!
Caterpillar Week
As the weather warms up we will be exploring our garden and growing seeds; and learning about caterpillars, butterflies and lots of bugs and bees. The outside play area is a great place for discovery. If we are lucky we will have the opportunity to have birds nest in the nesting box on the side of the church building. It is so much fun to hear the baby birds as the mama bird brings them food to eat. If you have the chance to show your child a nest, you can talk about what they are doing and what happens when they grow. This week we will be making some ‘nesting stations’ for the birds to use as they make their nest. We will be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and discussing how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The rhymes and stories will say ‘cocoon,’ but it is actually a ‘chrysalis.’
Butterflies and moths go through the same stages in their metamorphosis with one difference. Many moths form a cocoon instead of a chrysalis. Moths form cocoons by first spinning a silken ‘house’ around them. Once the cocoon is finished, the moth caterpillar molts for the last time, and forms a pupa inside the cocoon.
Butterflies DO form cocoons, no matter what The Very Hungry Caterpillar says! However, not all moths form cocoons, either! Some moth species pupate underground instead. These caterpillars burrow into the soil or leaf litter, molt to form their pupa, and remain underground until the moth emerges. The newly emerged moth will then crawl out from underground, crawl up onto a surface from which they can hang, and will then expand their wings in preparation for flight.
Song:
Fuzzy Caterpillar
A fussy little caterpillar
made a cocoon one day
Turned into a butterfly
and flew away.