Butterflies give kids lessons in life cycles

Kindergartners see larvae change, fly

TEXARKANA — Kindergartners in the Texarkana Independent School District experienced the end of a life cycle with the release of their Painted Lady butterflies.

As the butterflies took flight, the children chased the delicate friends they had helped raise from larvae, wanting to hold them.

The Dogwood Garden Club donated 27 butterfly kits to kindergarten classes in the district to help children develop an appreciation for gardening and nature.

Wanda Boyette, who is on the Texarkana Independent School Board and is a member of the garden club, said she was thrilled to see the children’s excitement when the butterflies were released on the elementary campuses last week.

“It was so cute to watch the children when they released the butterflies,” she said. “You could tell they were all just actively involved.”

Dogwood Garden Club chose the project after the group’s president, Jan Smythe, mentioned that she had used the butterflies in her classroom while she was a teacher. She explained to the members how the children enjoyed watching the transformation from caterpillars into butterflies.

The group agreed the project would further its mission to preserve gardening.

“We just feel it’s more important now than ever to be good stewards of the Earth and teach children about gardening,” Boyette said. “The wonders of nature … the key is to start children young so they have an appreciation.”

Highland Park Elementary kindergarten teacher Daniela Tirrito said she incorporated the butterflies’ life cycle into her curriculum with videos, butterfly painting and other activities.

She said that watching the creatures complete the cycles of life made the concept real to her children.

“It’s such a very abstract concept, seeing the life cycle,” she said. “It would have been hard not seeing the actual butterflies’ life cycle.”

The children kept logs each day on the larvae’s progress. Each one formed a chrysalis then grew wings, six legs, a proboscis and antennae to become beautifully formed butterflies.

Melissa Thompson, who teaches kindergarten at Wake Village Elementary, said her class did a unit on butterflies and studied the insects’ parts, along with watching videos on what they could expect during the process of transformation.

“This time, it was neat to get to actually observe it,” she said. “It means a lot more when they can actually see it and be a part of the process. It makes it more concrete instead of reading a book.”

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