When I find bugs in the house, I kill them. (That’s just natural, right?)
Today, we were having school at the kitchen table (a new venture . . .), and Nick stepped out the back door to feed the dog. He said, “There’s a worm in here,” not grossed out or anything, just a statement. Of course, I’m thinking an earthworm . . . nasty.
Long story short, after I ignored his report for a while, I finally turned around to see. A semi-fuzzy caterpillar sat motionless on my blue curtain. My first thought was, “I’m not touching it. I’ll leave it until Jon gets home, and he can get rid of it.”
Side note: How on earth a caterpillar got into my house, I don’t understand.
Being a diligent homeschooling mother, I was intent on continuing the lessons I was having with my kids. I think I was in the middle of a spelling lesson with James while Nick worked on math. They just kept asking questions about the caterpillar, though.
Curiosity? An interest in nature? I’m a bit embarrassed how long it took me to stop and turn this caterpillar visit into a time of exploring and learning. And I call myself a closet unschooler, good grief!
At last, my “seize the moment” nature returned unto me, and I did a quick search on caterpillar identification. The boys wanted to know if this particular model would turn into a butterfly or a moth. I scrolled through about 18 pages of caterpillar photos on this Butterflies and Moths of North America site and still don’t know for sure what type this is.
We read a couple pages about raising a caterpillar through metamorphosis, including this Caterpillars of Eastern Forests article, and then set up a jar for our new project friend. The boys picked some different types of leaves since we have no idea what it will prefer eating, and we added a few sticks for caterpillar fun time.
Hopefully he’ll survive and we’ll end up with a nice science lesson.
© 2012, Cindy. All rights reserved.
So glad to have found your blog through Hip Homeschool Moms today!
My husband and the boys raised butterflies last year – it was quite awesome. Great work on the research and the jar (and the sticks and leaves for food. Did your books tell you they like milkweed? I'm a nature idiot, that's the only thing I remember from last year. My husband is the farm boy, I just try to keep up. Still don't know what milkweed actually looks like.)
Fun post, can't wait to see what happens with your new friend! Maybe you can name him "Project."
I'm happy to be a new follower!
Hey Cindy!
Sounds like fun! I'm glad you gave up on "school" and had a fun science lesson with your new pet.
I, like you, find it hard to leave our book work to do fun, hands-on things sometimes, but I'm always glad when I do. I like Leslie's idea to call him Project, too. Have fun!
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