Little Harvard Rothesay Preschool Program

'Butterfly butterfly fly away, you were a caterpillar yesterday' 🦋🐛

Painted Lady Butterflies
Five caterpillars, a netted habitat, food, and related literacy were introduced to Little Harvard Learning Centre on, June 8, 2022. To ensure everyone was included, we created separate homemade habitats for each room for the children to observe, learn and enjoy.
On June 12th, all the creepy crawlers turned into their chrysalis stage and hung upside down in their hard cocoons. Merissa (our brave educator) transferred the caterpillars to their new netted habitat on each floor. She ensures they are sprayed lightly with water daily to keep them hydrated. The children observe them regularly and look forward to watching them transform into butterflies. We heard ‘Look, look, they are hanging upside down today!’, ‘What are they doing inside the shell?’, ‘How will the butterfly get out?’, ‘I wonder what color they will be.’
We have also created classroom documentation of the stages on large easel paper. Using fine motor skills, the children draw what they see and learn through the stages. We read ‘The Crunching Munching Caterpillar’ by, Sheridan Cain, as well as ‘Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars’, by Debbie Tarbett.
This project relates to our NBCF Curriculum Framework by developing a sense of wonder and recognizing patterns of nature. It contributes to imagination and creativity while building communicative practices. A variety of sign systems were incorporated, such as letter displays, related literacy, and math. We also used technology for research to answer some unknown questions.