Book Love: Butterfly Books

We used quite a few butterfly books as part of our life cycle study this year. Here are a few of our favorites!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
This one is a classic for a reason. Although, I change the word "cocoon" to "chrysalis" when I read it. :) There are so many fun ways you can connect to this text, from counting to story retelling to art.

Ten Little Caterpillars
I love that this book explores the life of a caterpillar, and the many different varieties that there are. Students can connect to the experiences in the book, particularly the one where a caterpillar is taken to school in a jar. This is also a great book for connecting to math. Plus Lois Ehlert's illustrations in this book are so delightful.

A Butterfly is Patient
This is a beautifully illustrated informational text about butterflies. I don't always read it word for word when I use it with my preschool classes, but I love the descriptive phrases and incorporate that into our entire study. "A butterfly is patient, a butterfly is creative, a butterfly is magical..." We used that same format to describe the caterpillars: "a caterpillar is hungry...spiky...wiggly" and the chrysalis: "a chrysalis is quiet...still...bumpy."

Waiting for Wings
We read this one on the day we released our butterflies, and my students were so excited to notice that it features a Painted Lady Butterfly- the type we'd been raising! This book also goes through the butterfly stages of the butterfly life cycle, but spends a little bit more time with what happens after they are butterflies. And once again, I love Lois Ehlert's style of illustration and the way she labels them to bring attention to the realistic nature of her work.

Photographic Nonfiction Books
I have some informational books I've collected over the years that are no longer being sold, but I love using books that have actual photographs in them as well. There are so many out there that would provide the same kind of experience. :)

Other Fun Butterfly Books
There are so many books about butterflies out there. We didn't get to these ones this time around, but they could also be fun to check out if you want to continue to explore these amazing insects!

We also created our own butterfly books as we observed our caterpillars grow and change into butterflies. I love the different ways that children represent their thinking and observations at this stage of writing.
Caterpillars

Life Cycle


Butterflies

Life Cycle Study, Part 4: Butterflies!

It took about 3.5 weeks for our butterflies to go through the different stages we were observing. 

We documented the time it took using this simple calendar, and then made graphs at the end to compare how long each stage lasted. 

The first two butterflies emerged before class one day, and then by the end of that class we had eight.

That class was able to see how the butterfly's wings are wet and crumpled when they first come out, and then they stretch their wings out to dry. 

By the second day of class, all 10 butterflies had emerged and were starting to get more active. 

Butterfly Journals

We took some time to carefully observe the features of our butterflies and drew them in our journals.

Butterfly "Tongue" Craft

We also explored interesting facts about butterflies, like how they taste with their feet and use their  long proboscis to suck up nectar from the flowers. We made a craft as a fun way to think about their tongues using paper and straws.

Releasing the Butterflies

And then it was time to set our butterflies free! Some butterflies linger long enough for the kids to get a close-up look before they fly away. We had one butterfly this year with a slightly damaged wing, and it stayed on my hand for awhile. This also gave us the opportunity to talk about how fragile butterflies are.

The afternoon class has had a particular interest in bugs all year long, and several girls were especially eager to try and hold a butterfly. Although it's impossible to control that outcome for every student, a few did get the chance. 

My favorite part of releasing the butterflies came in the morning class, when they all started saying:

"Goodbye butterflies! Go and drink some nectar!"