Caterpillar Investigation, Part 4

In three previous posts (here, here, and here), I described our caterpillar investigation. The caterpillars seemed to suddenly appear on the parsley in our vegetable garden. We started by observing them in the garden and eventually placed two caterpillars in a "butterfly house" to hopefully watch their metamorphosis into butterflies.  We are patiently awaiting some changes. One point I neglected to mention on those previous posts is the fact that this butterfly house in exposed to the cold. It's inside our screened porch so it's protected from severe weather but the temperature is basically the same as outside. I did this because the caterpillars were outside eating our parsley. Presumably, those caterpillars are adapted to the seasons and should, therefore, be left to experience the appropriate weather.

Last Wednesday, we added a new specimen to our butterfly house- a woolly bear caterpillar. I almost crushed the fuzzy little creature while walking through our dining room. Luckily, my husband spotted it and stopped me. Of course, I picked it up and showed our kids.

My daughter was the first to suggest we place it in with the other caterpillars. I was happy to support her investigation, as long as I knew we could keep the caterpillar healthy. Unlike the first caterpillars we found, I did not know how to care for a woolly bear. Even though I've seen them for my entire life, I had never seen one eating or researched their life cycle. I did a quick Internet search to be sure of what to do to care for it. I learned they eat clover or grass and would need a stick on which to climb. The kids gathered the needed supplies and we added the woolly bear to to the butterfly house. We need to add "fresh" grass every day until it stops moving around. Then it will winter over and make a cocoon in the spring. My research revealed that this caterpillar must be allowed to experience the cold or it's life cycle will be disrupted. It will make a cocoon too early and emerge as a moth that cannot survive the cold weather. 

We now have two un-identified caterpillars that made crysalids (photo to left)  in the butterfly house. We think they will emerge as butterflies very soon. (Full disclosure... I know what they are but I haven't told my kids or my readers. Does anyone besides Gail want to suggest what kind they are?) We also have the woolly bear that will eventually spin a cocoon and emerge as a moth in the spring. We check them each day to watch for changes and now we add grass or clover as the woolly bear needs more. We also need to add some pieces of bark or maybe leaves for it to hide beneath.

So, our investigations continue. I'll keep you posted when anything changes. In the meantime, I leave you with this idea. Take baby steps in your investigations with children. Know your limitations. Resist the urge to look up information just to get answers. By observing closely, you and your children (or students) can learn things together. Do find out enough, however, so that you can properly care for any organisms you observe.

Have you embarked on an investigation with your children or students lately? What did you do? What did you learn together? If you haven't done an investigation, how might you begin? Try to make time to to begin one soon.

Cranberry Harvest

Yesterday we attended the A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Harvest Celebration in Wareham, MA.  A. D. Makepeace is the largest cranberry grower in the world. The festival offers a nice balance between fun activities and learning about the harvest (mostly through fun activities!). It was a pefect fall day to explore the cranberry bogs and learn about the cranberry harvest. For busy families, a festival like this is a great way to get outdoors together- no planning necessary- just show up!

One thing I love about this festival is that it really is all about the cranberries and what is local. And, it is affordable for families. Admission is only $2.00 per person, under 7 free. If you bring non-perishable food items for a local food pantry, admission is free. Once you're inside, there is plenty to do free of charge, including a bog tour. There are also loads of picnic tables in the main festival area, at the bog, and even in the parking lot, so families can pack a lunch (no coolers allowed, though). For those who want to spend some money, there's plenty of food to choose from, a crafter's tent, and various hay rides, moon bounces, and helicopter rides.

Yes, there are vendors, but this is not a highly commercial festival. Makepeace also hosts organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Lions club, and edible South Shore. These groups share news about their good work and, in some cases, raise funds for their organizations.

One of my favorites at the festival is the "bridge" set up at the harvest site. Visitors climb up and over the trucks as they're loaded.

From above, you can see the berries come off the belt  

and land in the back of a tractor trailer.

There were also jugglers, a bluegrass band, and an owl show. Then there's one of my kid' favorites...a GIANT sand pile that inspires kids and adults alike to roll, jump, skid, and slide. There's nothing like some good old fun for the kid in all of us. Best of all, we got to be outdoors.

Obviously, this harvest festival is over for the year, but the harvest continues. If you live in Massachusetts, you can probably find a bog and watch the harvest from the road. My son's school bus has been known to stop for a few minutes when they're ahead of schedule to watch the helicopters load up. We can still hear them working every day.

How about where you live? Is it harvest time now? Have you attended any good fall/harvest celebrations. Are there ones you plan to attend in the next couple of weeks?

Confessions of a Passive Gardener

Check this out. Do you know what it is? Come on... look really closely.

What do you mean you don't know? Can't you tell that's our squash and melon patch? Where are the squashes and melons, you might ask. I know it's pretty hard to find them among the weeds. This is what happens when life gets ahead of you. For me, a summer car accident, two weeks of house guests, and then a vacation prevented me from caring for this patch the way I should have. Did anyone else have a summer like that? Do you feel guilty for neglecting your garden, not planting a garden in the first place, or not "doing" enough nature activities with your child?

Lest you think I am the perfect Gardener/Naturalist/Mom/Teacher, I thought I should share this very clear visual that illustrates I am not. No-one is, so don't put unreasonable expectations on yourself. Do your best and celebrate your accomplishments.

Did you grow even one bit of produce this summer with your children? Did you cook a new recipe together with something you grew? Did your kids learn about plant life cycles by seeing a plant go from seed to flower to fruit? Did you explore the beach, or a pond, or a forest together? Each of these is a valuable lesson for your kids. Celebrate them. Once you celebrate, you can look for ways to improve.

 Here's the funny thing... despite the abundance of weeds, our melon and squash patch produced an abundance of food. We harvested 33 butternut squash (from 3 plants), 6 delicious cantaloupe (the woodchuck ate at least 3!) and three gigantic watermelons (there are two small ones still growing). The bigger message here is that you don't have to be the perfect gardener to grow some food for your family. You also don't have to be the perfect parent or teacher to raise wonderful kids.  In this "disaster" of a patch that we basically just managed to plant and water, wonderful things grew. The same is true for kids and classrooms and flower beds. Do your best. Love them. Nurture them as best you can. Don't beat yourself up for all the activities you didn't do. Celebrate the ones you did enjoy together and then make a plan to do more in the future.

What accomplishments are you celebrating today? Celebrate them publicly by posting them here.

Caterpillar Investigation, Part 3

When the kids and I went out to observe the caterpillars on Wednesday afternoon, two were mysteriously absent. Several theories were suggested including, "They left," and "Birds got them." I had another theory. I suspected they were ready to make their chrysalids and had left to find a good spot. I know Painted Ladies eat and eat and eat for a week to ten days or so before beginning their metamorphosis, so I suspected a similar timeline here. I also know that some caterpillars will make a chrysalis right on the host plant they eat but others will move to a nearby location.

Since I am unsure of where these particular caterpillars may choose to transform, I suggested we put a couple in our butterfly house so we could watch them more closely. I would have preferred to keep watching them right were they were, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the metamorphosis. Upon hearing my suggestion, my daughter ran to tell her brother (who had gone inside for a minute). They both raced back and my daughter said, "Mama, D has a good idea! He thinks we should put some parsley inside so they can eat it." A good idea indeed! In the parsley went with two of the caterpillars. (We left the final one where it was).

On Thursday, one caterpillar had attached to a surface and stopped moving while the other did laps around the house, up and down the screen. By Friday, both caterpillars had attached themselves to the solid part of the butterfly house (as opposed to the netting)- one at the top, one at the bottom. They both seemed to have their "mouth end" and the "other end" attached, so that their bodies looked like a comma.

Then, today, came the big excitement. Both caterpillars are "gone." In their places are two chrysalids. The kids were so excited. My daughter raced to get her grandfather so he could see them.

Now we wait

And we watch.
And we watch

And we wait.

Until something wonderful and magical happens.

What do you think, readers? Will butterflies appear soon? What kind will they be? How long do you think they will remain in the chrysalids?

Caterpillar Investigation, Part 2

Yesterday, I posted about the caterpillars that appeared on our parsley a little over a week ago. I also told you I'd provide updates regarding any changes.

Here's a quick photo update.
Taken the first day we officially observed them- last Wednesday, September 22nd. This was the largest caterpillar at the time.

Taken two days later on, September 24th.

And here' s one taken today, September 27th:

My how they've grown in just 5 days! Nearly doubled in size!

Our primary question is: Will the caterpillars change into butterflies? And, if they do, how long will the process take? My daughter has already connected our observations to The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. In it, a fictional caterpillar eats lots of food (not all of it "real" caterpillar food) and then changes into a beautiful butterfly.

What do you think will happen? What questions do you have?

Teachable Moment- Caterpillar Investigation

Last weekend I noticed some new residents in our vegetable garden when I was harvesting parsley for dinner. My first thought? It's time for an investigation with the kids!

This is the perfect example of what educators call a "teachable moment:" a time when an event prompts learning about a new, unplanned topic. In a classroom, the moment may be spurred by an intriguing question asked by a student or a guest who arrives unexpectedly. For science-oriented teachers like me, it may be when something exciting happens in the classroom aquarium such as a crab attacking a mummichog (Challenge: Does anyone know what a mummichog is? If so, post it in the comments!) Or, in this case, some caterpillars decide to move into our garden.

When teachable moments occur in a classroom, teachers usually have a few moments, at best, to decide whether to veer off topic and delve deeper into the new topic or to continue with the scheduled lesson. Ideally, our days would be filled with teachable moments because they represent times when kids are usually highly motivated by the events at hand. The reality is, however, that digging into every teachable moment could lead to a classroom with no focus or one that doesn't reach the required goals for the year. Teachers are faced with the daunting task of choosing those moments carefully.

(Note to educators: I would choose to explore this particular teachable moment with my elementary students because I know I can address many state mandated science and ELA standards along the way. This represents a place where standards and a teachable moment overlap. A win, win all around!)



 So how do you plan an investigation? It's simple. You watch. You make observations. You ask questions and try to find the answers to your questions.

The kids and I went out to examine the little caterpillars more closely on Wednesday. We chose to draw them and record other important data such as the date, their size, their location on the plants, the number of stripes, etc.   Each of us chose a different focus, but between us we have a fairly complete record of what we saw.

My 4 year old daughter focused on drawing the pattern in the stripes. Her dictated caption reads, "His eyes are tiny. We found him in the garden. We found him on the parsley."

My 8 year old son focused on the stripe pattern, the shape of the caterpillar, and it's legs.



My journal entry included the most data, which makes sense since I'm older and have been doing this longer! I included measurements, locations on the plants, etc. A portion of my entry:

Our plan is to watch them over the next few days or weeks and record the changes we see. We're hoping to see a big change in a week or so. Check back to see what happens! I'll post the changes as we see them. I'll also offer suggestions for guiding children in their science investigations.

Has anyone seen these caterpillars before? Do you know what they are? We've purposely avoided field guides for right now, though we have a pretty good idea what they are. If you know, please share!

Nature in Our Nation's Capitol

As I mentioned in a previous post, my family spent time in Washington, DC during the month of August. In between our visits to museums and the National Zoo, we also took time to enjoy a little nature. After a visit to the Museum of Natural History, we stepped out onto the National Mall to have a picnic with our friends. And even though the National Mall is decidedly not a "wild" natural space, humans cannot control one aspect of nature- the wind. It continues to blow as wild as it wants.

Our kids took advantage of this by flying a "pocket kite" purchased at the Air and Space Museum the rainy day before. They learned a few things about nature and physics as they learned to keep a kite aloft and soaked up a few of the sun's rays at the same time.

How do you and your kids experience nature in the city? Do you go to a park or other open space? Have you found other ways to enjoy nature? Please share your ideas.

On another note, if you have questions you'd like answered or topics you'd like me to explore, please post a comment. If you'd rather remain anonymous, send me an email.
michelle(at)michellecusolito(dot)com (Use the usual @ and . symbols in my address. Writing it this way stops spam).