Butterflies!

As part of our science life cycle unit, we have been caring for different types of insects in our classroom!  We raised and released milkweed bugs from tiny eggs as we watched them go through an incomplete metamorphosis (they only change in size after hatching), as well as care for 7 hungry caterpillars!  We were able to watch these go through a complete metamorphosis when they changed  shapes as they moved their egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly) stages.  After caring for them as adults, we released them this week so that they could find their own food, lay eggs and start the life cycle over again.

Here are some of our friends as we released our butterflies.  It seems they had become attached to us as much as we became attached to them - they kept flying back to the 1st graders!