Raising Caterpillars {Finished Friday} come link up your finished projects, too!

link up your finished projects at the bottom of this post

A couple of years ago my friend, Kristin, posted about her children's experience raising caterpillars. I filed the idea away for when my own children were a little older.

Well, this year the timing was finally right...and we just happened to find two large swallowtail caterpillars munching on the carrot tops in our garden.

Our carrots were very pleased to be rid of their plump and unwelcome guests and our kiddos were thrilled with their new pets.

Thankfully, both of our caterpillars were almost to the chrysalis stage as Tim really couldn't stand cutting off any more of our carrot tops to feed these little "pests."

Mrs. Little (named by Emahry because she was...little) and Mr. Big (yes, the creativity abounds) began the chrysalis stage one day apart and emerged as beautiful butterflies less than two weeks later. Of course, those two weeks were tortuously long for our kids as they checked on the caterpillars several times each day.

Throughout our waiting we enjoy reading about caterpillars and butterflies. Our favorite book was Bob and Otto that tells the story of a friendship between a caterpillar and an earthworm.

Mrs. Little was the first to complete the transformation and was so ready to fly that the only photo we have of her release is the kids waving to her as she flew over our patio fence.

Mr. Big, however, was still readying his wings when we discovered him, so we were able to enjoy him a little bit longer.

I don't think I ever raised a caterpillar as a child. If I did, I certainly don't remember it, so this was a learning experience for me as well.

I hope this caterpillar raising will become a yearly tradition in our family...it's definitely worth repeating!

Since Kristin did such a great job simplifying the process, I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel. Just head on over to her post for directions on how to raise your own caterpillars.

Today's Questions: Have you ever raised caterpillars? Is it something you'd like to do with your children?

I'm trying to hold myself accountable to finish some of the projects on my to do list by posting each Friday about a project I've completed.

Would you like to join in? Link up to your own projects below.

1. Link to your project post, not your blog's home page, so we can find it easily.
2. Let us know what project you are sharing in your title, for example: Spring Wreath
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Gardening with Kids: Plant & Garden Books for Children

Our whole family has been enjoying the start of our summer-long plant & garden nature study. Tim loves that we’re all out in the garden together, I love that we’re incorporating what we already spend our time doing with “official” learning, and the kids think it’s just plain fun!

To go along with all the garden and plant learning we’ve been doing, we’ve compiled a great list of garden themed children’s books.

There’s a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction represented. I think almost all of these books could be used in some form with children from preschool through elementary school.

A few of these books are from our home library, but the majority of them were found at our local public library. Almost all of these books can be purchased on Amazon (a great way to use gift cards from Swagbucks).

	A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds by Jean Richards  The illustrations in this book are fantastic! The book is a good introduction to seeds, their purpose, and their growth. I did stumble upon a common misconception (that seeds need sunlight to grow), but found the book to be a good introduction and a great discussion starter about what “vegetables” are technically fruits.
	A Garden Alphabet by Isabel Wilner Emahry received this book for her first birthday, so it’s an old favorite. Our copy was purchased second hand and is signed by the author :) The kids like the gardener dog and his (dog-sized) frog friend. This alphabet book is written in rhyming verse and includes the capital and lowercase of each letter. My favorite letter is “Uu’s underground, where some vegetables grow, Like the beet, carrot, radish, and the poe-tay-toe.”
	A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian This is a much different style of alphabet book than the one above with only one word on each two-page spread. The illustrations are what makes this book so beautiful. The detail on each page really captures the imagination of the reader.
	A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston  A wonderful mix of poetic phrases, science concepts, and beautiful watercolors makes this book a great addition to any seed study. This book really make informational text approachable and easy to understand.
	Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals This A to Z book of composting is written in rhyming text and tells what household “trash” can be thrown into the compost. The vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials. There is one mention of “Mother Earth.”
	From Seed to Daisy: Following the Life Cycle by Laura Purdie Salas This book follows the life cycle of a Shasta Daisy from seed to seed bearing flower. Plant facts and vocabulary such as germinate, photosynthesis, perennial, and pollen are naturally sprinkled throughout and accompanied with easy to understand explanations. The illustrations are crisp and bright and the book also includes fun facts and a glossary.
	Grandma’s Gloves by Cecil Castellucci This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a little girl whose Grandma teaches her all about flower gardening. “You are my most special flower of all” her grandma tells her. But when Grandma is hospitalized and later dies, the little girl is the only one who knows how to care for Grandma’s flowers. The book ends with hope as the girl promises to teach her mother everything Grandma taught her.
	Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert The story in this book follows the process of preparing a garden, planting seeds and seedlings, watering the garden, weeding, picking vegetables, and finally cutting things up and making soup. It’s a great way to lead up to a family cooking time.
	How a Seed Grows by Helen J. Jordan  This simple introduction of seed leads readers through the process of growing bean plants from seeds and helps with a basic understanding of how seeds work. It’s a great guide for a seed growing science experiment.
	Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole “This is the garden that Jack planted,” begins this spin-off of “The house the Jack built.” Each page adds to the description of the steps needed to plant and care for a garden. Each beautifully illustrated two-page spread is surrounded by labeled drawings of tools, insects, birds, eggs, and flowers. These detailed drawings make this a wonderful book even for older children.
	Mortimer’s First Garden by Karma Wilson We first fell in love with Mortimer last Christmas and this second story is just as sweet. When the small mouse hears about how planted seeds grow and produce more seeds he decides to plant his last sunflower seed. He is often discouraged and almost digs up his seed as he waits for the miracle to happen. The Christian message of trusting God is clear as Mortimer “hears” the voice of God and thanks God when the springtime miracle finally happens. Be sure to give Mortimer a nice squeaky voice when reading this one :)
	Mud Pies and Other Recipes by Marjorie Winslow This isn’t exactly a gardening or plant book, but it is filled with wonderfully imaginative “recipes” for children to make outdoors. Some recipes include "Stuffed Seashells" and "Mud Puddle Soup," "Dandelion Soufflé," "Roast Rocks" and "Pine Needle Upside-Down Cake." Just don’t be surprised if your children start bringing you bowls of indistinguishable mush.
	My Garden by Kevin Henkes  After a young girl describes how she helps her mother in the garden she imagines the garden of her own dreams with chocolate bunnies, tomatoes as big as beach balls and flowers that grow back the instant they’re picked. This is a cute book to spark children’s imaginations and could easily lead to creative storytelling, writing, or artwork.
	Oh Say Can You Seed: All About Flowering Plants by Bonnie Worth The Cat in the Hat examines the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and seed dispersal in this Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library book. The flow isn’t quite the same as Theodore Geisel's(original Cat in the Hat author), but it’s very close and teaches a lot of plant basics at the same time.
	Planting a Rainbow  by Lois Ehlert  This colorful book follows the yearly cycle of growing a rainbow hued flower garden. It discusses planting bulbs, ordering seeds, anticipating the first spring shoots, and planting seedlings. Our kids really liked the six pages of varying width depicting all the flowers of each color of the rainbow.
	Once There was a Seed by Judith Anderson  This is a great little introduction to the life cycle of a seed through the eyes of a little girl and her green-thumbed grandfather. There are notes for parents, as well as suggestions for learning activities that will reinforce the information in the book.
	One Bean by Anne Rockwell  This simple little book is perfect for following along with your own bean growing experiment. The illustrations are charming and show exactly what happens to the bean throughout the growing process.
	Our Community Garden by Bethany Roberts Audrey lives in San Francisco, where she and her friends have plots in a community garden. They plant, weed, and water to raise their favorite vegetables which reflect their cultural heritage. This book discusses working, and playing, together. At the end everyone eats together to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
	Secrets of the Garden by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld  This book is a marvelous way for children to learn about nature and food chains. It follows a family as they prepare, plant, care for, and harvest from their backyard garden. The family’s two comical chickens lecture about the garden and how it connects to the food chain and food web.
	Seeds and More Seeds by Millicent Selsam Published in 1963 as an “A Science I CAN READ Book” this story/science book follows a young boy name Benny as he sets up and performs his own experiments to learn more about seeds and the plants that they grow into.
	Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown  The artwork in this book is beautiful! I also love the unique style of counting book that starts with ten seeds and one-by-one each seed or plant is destroyed until only one last flower remains—and drops ten seeds so the cycle can begin again.
	The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss This is a simple story about a little boy who plants a carrot seed and knows that one day a carrot will grow. This book can begin a wonderful discussion about standing up for what you believe in and working hard for things you want.
	The Curious Garden by Peter Brown Liam finds a struggling garden in a city all gray and dull. Over time the curious garden spreads to make the city vibrant, lush, and green. There is definitely an underlying eco-friendly theme, but nothing that jumps up on its soapbox. There’s also a wonderful inspiration from real life on the final page.
	The Little Composter by Jan Gerardi This lift-the-flap board book is filled with playful rhymes that show what parts of foods can be added to the compost pile. Our toddler loves this book, but don’t let the fact the this is a board book keep you from sharing it with an older child—it’s a wonderful springboard to creating your own whole food to compost art projects.
	The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado Little Acorn doesn’t believe he’ll ever be a big strong oak tree. He struggles with finding his purpose and being “the tree God made [him] to be." This is a beautifully illustrated (and heftier) book that can lead to several different discussions, including becoming who God want us to be.
	The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle As seeds are scattered, one small seed struggles to survive while other seeds meet various disasters. This story of a small seed is a little odd if read alone. However, Amanda suggests a great way to use this book along with the Parable of the Sower found in the Bible in Matthew 13.
	The Wind’s Garden by Bethany Roberts A little girl tells the story of the garden she planted and compares it to the wild garden that is planted by the wind. This is a great way to discuss the beauty of domestic and natural gardens and a good practice for comparing and contrasting.
	This Is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer  This book starts with one sunflower and through the “This Is the House that Jack Built” style rhyme ends with a patch of sunflowers. The watercolor illustrations are bright and vivid and it’s just plain fun to read.
	Yucky Worms by Vivian French This fun book takes a humorous approach to explaining why worms are considered a gardener’s friends. Readers are shown where worms live, how they move, and how they help make gardens better. Great for boys or any child who loves creepy crawlies.

Do you know of any other good plant or garden books for children? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear your suggestions.

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Gardening with Kids: Creating a Plant & Garden Nature Study Binder

Recently, when Kristin shared her nature study ideas I knew this type of learning would be a good fit for our family. Science with no curriculum (and minimal cost), yes, please.

 

Since we spend a great deal of spring and summer hours in the garden, I thought that would be the perfect place to start.

 

Even if you don’t homeschool, this is the perfect summer project to keep your kids learning, engaged, and outdoors. It would also make a great show-and-tell for the famous “how I spent my summer” discussion.

 

Now, I must admit, I have never researched the art of nature study, in fact, I’m fairly certain we won’t be doing it quite right, but this is what works for our family—maybe it’ll work for your family, too!

 

This idea is a little bit of a smorgasbord of ideas taken from the concept of nature study, journaling, notebooking, and scrapbooking.

 

Since our children are all preschoolers, I decided that we would do our nature study as a family and keep our notes and drawings in one place.

 

I’m a little obsessed with binders and page protectors (just ask my husband) so I decided that our nature study would be housed not in a sketchbook but in a 3-ring binder. (Trying to get three kids to share one sketchbook sounded like a recipe for disaster and since they are so young I’m not ready for them each to have their own sketchbook.)

 

(click here to print this cover for your binder)

 

I filled the binder with various styles of page protectors: standard, 4x6 photo, trading card, and business card (all leftover from various projects—I told you I’m obsessed). This will make it easier to place all types of items into our binder.

 

Along with what the kids' contribute, my husband will be adding various garden notes and I’m sure I’ll be adding my own observations as well (I already slid in an April garden plot sketch).

 

 

Here are a couple of the things the kids have added so far.

 

 

 

I’m also planning on adding monthly photos of the garden and the kids helping in the garden.

 

 

I’ll probably edit and save all of these in a folder on our computer until I come across a good deal for printing photos. For the time being I’ll slide some scrap paper into the photo slots with a description of which picture I want there. That will help me quickly add them in once they’re printed.

 

Here are some ideas of other things you could add to your plant and garden nature study binder:

I tried to stop at 10 items, but I just kept finding more great activities, so this is more of a top ten + eight :)

(All the links below go to my pins, so those who use Pinterest can repin easily from the original source.)

• monthly drawings of the same plant (to show growth)
• drawings of bugs and other garden critters
• plant life cycle cards (like these or ones your child has drawn)
• weather charts or graphs
• results of plant experiments (like this or this)
• poems about plants
• measurements of different garden plants or garden produce
• famous garden paintings
• Venn diagrams comparing two different plants
• a list of your favorite plant books (we’re gathering ours now)
• garden word cards (like these or these)
• labeled diagrams of flowering plants
• garden or plant painting (like this or this for older children, or this one and this one perfect for younger kiddos)
• favorite recipes using foods from your garden
• pressed flowers or leaves
• photos of crafts made for the garden (Like our painted garden markers. I’m gathering lots of other ideas here)
• garden magazine or seed catalogue collages
• leaf rubbings

We’ll be sharing lots of ideas and projects from our nature study throughout the summer, including an extensive list of great plant and garden books to read with your kids. Sign up for free email updates below so you don’t miss a thing.

Is this something you’d like to do with your child(ren)?

Can you think of other things that would be nice to add to our Plant and Garden Binder? We’d love to hear your ideas.

 

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