The girls have been loving the caterpillars!! Every morning they wake up and want to see the caterpillars.
They are obviously very curious about the caterpillars and the process of them turning into butterflies. To learn more about the process we read this book From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman
To pick up on their growing interest we also found some pictures of caterpillars online and printed them out for the girls to observe.
We talked about the different characteristics we saw and I encouraged the girls to describe the various caterpillars.
After observing the real caterpillars and the pictures the girls created their own representations of caterpillars using mixed media of oil pastels and water colors. When I taught with the Reggio Emilia Philosophy we did many projects that included mixed media, observational drawings and creating representations of what was being studied.
First they used the oil pastels to draw a caterpillar.
My 2 year old wanted to draw a caterpillar too and in her mind it was indeed a caterpillar!
Next they used watercolors to paint over the oil pastels. Mixing these two types of media creates a cool effect and texture when dried.
Mallory's completed caterpillar! She loved this project and I think we will do it again with butterfly pictures once our caterpillars turn into butterflies.
Be sure to check back as we document the growth of our caterpillars turning into butterflies!
If you like what you see here please join us on Facebook: Imprints From Tricia on Facebook
What a wonderful project! I love how you have extended the learning into art. Do the caterpillars live inside the plastic tub and go through their transformation in there too?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Amie! No, the caterpillars will live in the tub until they form chrysalis's and then they are transported to the "Butterfly Garden" which is a large net container. That is where they will turn into butterflies.
DeleteI was head over heels in love with caterpillars and butterflies after we had a butterfly unit in second grade...and got to raise our own butterflies from caterpillars. After our class released our flock of Monarchs into the sky over the playground, the teacher gave me the butterfly home. She sensed the special joy the whole process brought me. The caterpillar artwork your girls are making are beautiful. I would frame them for cheerful wall art! -heather
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Heather! What a special memory your teacher gave you! I only hope my girls have similar fond memories! Thanks for sharing! Great idea about framing them! I was thinking of doing the same type of art work with butterflies and framing both the caterpillars and butterflies! :)
DeleteHi Tricia, Just stopping by to say hi. My little blog was "Liebstered" and now I'm passing on the love to you :) Hope all is well!
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for passing on the love...sorry for my ignorance but what is "Liebstered?" Thanks for saying Hi!
Delete