In our homeschool, we choose unit studies as supplements to the curriculums that we use. They are a fantastic way to incorporate science, math, writing, reading, and art around a subject the kids are all interested in! This year, our boys were super curious about the extreme changes that butterflies endure during their short lifespan. Doing the lessons at the onset of spring set the stage for discussing metamorphosis and the insect’s role in pollination.

Being Christian, it also was a lovely visual when discussing Jesus Christ’s ministry, death, and resurrection just ahead of Easter. We bought the Butterfly Garden Kit by Insect Lore through Amazon. The kit arrived at our doorstep with five baby caterpillars and everything we needed to care for them.

Butterfly Garden Kit Contents

• Five baby caterpillars with all the food they need.
• 12-inch-tall reusable mesh enclosure
• Chrysalis holding log
• Flower-shaped butterfly feeder
• Sugar packets for butterfly nectar
• Detailed instruction booklet
• Feeding dropper
• Observation journal

The Project

I was most impressed by this kit. Insect Lore has it down to a science (pun intended). The project lasts about three weeks in total. It is best to plan to raise butterflies when the daytime temperatures range between 55 degrees to no more than 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It is noteworthy that caterpillars cannot survive extreme hot or cold environments. Also, the live insects cannot be shipped to Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, or Puerto Rico.

The caterpillars arrive in a plastic container with a lid. The container holds all the food that they need from the caterpillar to the chrysalis stage of development and is clear for optimal observation purposes. The instructions are detailed, with 100% accuracy, about what to expect. There is also a trouble shooting section, which was helpful when one of our chrysalides fell (more on this later).

These tiny caterpillars are a sight to behold. They eat nonstop, fueling their rapid growth and transformation. We witnessed them climb to and from the bottom side of the container multiple times to practice hanging upside down. During this time the caterpillar’s goal is to get big and strong enough to make their chrysalis. We got to see them make silk and shed their exoskeletons. Between days seven and ten, they climbed to the top of their container and hung upside down in the shape of the letter J. They made their chrysalides and in another seven-to-ten-day period they began emerging as lovely painted lady butterflies.

Insect Lore guarantees that three out of five caterpillars make it to the butterfly stage. Because their chrysalides are so fragile one fell after it had dried. The directions explained how to move them to the mesh enclosure. All five chrysalides made it to our butterfly garden release a few days after watching their amazing metamorphosis!

This STEM project is amazing for the academic side of learning but allows for bible study as well (I will be doing a separate piece on this aspect on my Sunrise Parenting Column). I liked that the project was predictable, yet the butterflies didn’t do everything simultaneously. This opened the door to conversations about not comparing ourselves to others. These little ones weren’t bogged down by overthinking. They went about their work and became something beautiful. After the butterflies emerge the eyedropper is used to add sugar water to the nectar dish. They also enjoyed a strawberry.

We had and enjoyed them for 21 days exactly before we went outside to release our pollinating pals.

During the time that we had them, we completed the activities in the workbook. There was some labeling, word search, and writing prompt sections that our teen completed. The little ones did a daily art journal where they drew what the insects were up to. We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, My, Oh My—A Butterfly! All About Butterflies (The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library) by Tish Rabe with illustrations by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu, and National Geographic Readers: Caterpillar to Butterfly by Laura Marsh. Along with our books the kids made a caterpillar craft with a movable body like in The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a coffee filter butterfly.

We did this project in March. The boys still occasionally tell me they miss their butterflies. After we finished the unit these books went to their bookshelf. They often ask for us to read them one or all of them and enjoy quiet time looking at the pictures.

Cool Facts

Butterfly Release

Over the course of three days all five of our butterflies had emerged from their chrysalides. We enjoyed watching them while their wings dried then let them go outside in our yard a day later.

Conclusions

I could have saved the mesh enclosure and cleaned it to save money next time, but chose to purchase a new one instead. The instructions detail that the butterflies release meconium when they come out of the chrysalis and how to clean after the experience. Our butterflies released more meconium than I was personally willing to clean to keep the enclosure, but that is the only piece that the instructions didn’t cover as extensively as I felt like it could have. That small inconvenience, however, is not enough to keep us from doing the project again. Insect Lore has a dome shaped enclosure that has the clear observation and opening on the side, I think we may try that one next time!

When we do this again, I found additional books that I’d like to add for us to read together and more craft projects and online research to incorporate as well. I have some ideas for more activities to further facilitate the learning experience. As I develop these ideas I will write them up and share them here at The Midnight Toddler. If this is of interest to you feel free to sign up for email updates so that you will be notified when the articles are posted. Thank you for taking the time to read this! 🙂

Butterfly Garden Kit Rating: 5/5

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) lets us know that metamorphosis is not just for butterflies. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”