Everyone loves Eric Carle's A Very Hungry Caterpillar. It certainly is a favorite around here! I learned after visiting Eric Carle's Blog that this year marks the 40th Anniversary of A Very Hungry Caterpillar. I had no idea the book had been around such a long time! But certainly classics never go out of style. If you live in the New England area you should make a point to stop by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Springfield, Massachusetts. It's a treasure for children of all ages, from 1 - 99!

Alexander's class has been studying the caterpillar and the butterfly. Of course they read all books on the subject but they also got to grow their own caterpillar and watch as it formed a chrysalis and turn into a butterfly. It was as miraculous as childbirth, really! We kept our butterflies -- we had two, one did not make it -- for a couple of days and then we set them free. Did you know that butterflies live just two weeks? All that work for such a very short life? It seems so unfair!

His class also went to see the Butterfly Exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. If you ever have the chance to see such an exhibit by all means go -- no, fly on over! They are wondrous, beautiful creatures!

Lastly, to finish his butterfly study Alexander made a wonderful craft that illustrates the life of a butterfly.

This project really could not be any more simple!

Have the kids go outside and gather a healthy-sized stick.

You'll also need (for each stick):
1 small pearl bead
1 wooden clothes pin
4 small pom poms
2 pipe cleaners
1 coffee filter
assorted water colors
Glue gun or other strong glue

The kids will decorate their butterflies by painting, with watercolor, onto white coffee filters. Let dry several hours. Gather the center of the butterfly and tie a pipe cleaner around it and then round the ends to form little antenae.

You'll use another pipe cleaner to form the chrysalis. Wrap the pipe cleaner in a swirl. See above.

The caterpillar itself was created by gluing small pompoms onto wooden clothes pins. The clothes pin pinches on to the stick. Everything else is attached with a glue gun. This should be done by an adult. And just below the caterpillar you will see a single pearl bead, to represent the egg.

Pictured below is Rebecca's butterfly. Christopher's flew away as soon as we set it free while Rebecca's decided to hang out a little while.