Monarchs...

Today we went to Encinitas to learn about caterpillars and butterflies. We met up with a bunch of other homeschooling families and learned all about the four stages of life, butterfly body parts, watched a video and some slides. We learned about how to tell the females from the males by identifying the little black spot on their lower wings. The tour guide even did a magic trick where he had some stickers (of butterflies) in the back room and came out with one and put it on his arm. Then he peeled it off and a real butterfly flew away. No one knows how he did it. It was very cool.

By the end of the lesson, Ben and Hannah were very interested in the information but they weren't interested when we got there. Then we went into the vivarium to see the butterflies, chrysallises and caterpillars. There were slices of watermelons for the butterflies, and some of the kids started to eat them... oops! Ben caught a butterfly on a slice of watermelon (see below)!



OH and we brought some caterpillars and a butterfly bush home with us. We have it all together in a Cheerios box, and they are hanging...the beginnings of chrysallis-making...more to come!