It’s lifecycle week in The Children’s House this week – chickens, owls, butterflies, swallows, apples….we’re doing them all!! The children will be looking at the stages of different plants and animals, and examining how life begins and ends in the world around them, as well as doing some associated arts and crafts related to the lifecycles. For added excitement, we have some live additions to the classrooms this week – a ‘butterfly garden’!! This is an educational kit containing live caterpillars in a clear plastic cup which contains all of the nutritious food they need – the cup is placed safely away from direct sunlight, and the caterpillars will remain in the cup and will eat, spin silk and grow to TEN times their original size….After seven to ten days they will hang upside down and harden into chrysalides (chrysalides are also known as pupae). Once the chrysalides have hardened, we will move them to the pop-up butterfly habitat which is a cylindrical mesh container perfect for up close butterfly viewing! It will take about seven to ten more days for them to complete the transformation to adult butterflies, and will be a wonderful process for the children to observe!!

The White Birds (by W B Yeats)

I would that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea!
We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can fade and flee;
And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,
Has awakened in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that may not die.