YOUNGSTERS at Busy Bees pre-school in Ledbury finished off the terms with a special project all about butterflies.

Busy Bees manager, Emma Davis said: "Over the last three weeks of the summer term, we investigated the life cycle of a butterfly which has been a great first hand learning experience for the children."

She added: "When the caterpillars arrived in the post, they were tiny – probably less than a centimetre in length. We’d already been reading ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ so the children excitedly retold the story, thinking about what the caterpillars might eat before their transformation. All the food the caterpillars needed was in the bottom of the tub."

Miss Davis added: "The next day, we were astonished to see how much the caterpillars had already grown. We decided to make a chart to measure their growth which was great for thinking about days of the week and number recognition.

"Over the next week, the caterpillars quickly became much, much bigger and within a week all but one had made its way to the lid of the tub and transformed into a chrysalis. The next morning, the final caterpillar had transformed so we left them several days before transferring the lid to a netted enclosure."

Children guessed how long it would take for the butterflies to emerge with estimates ranging from a day to “next year”.

Miss Davis said: "In fact, we waited patiently for just over a week when overnight, four of the butterflies emerged from their cocoons and were fluttering around the net. The children were amazed.

"The next morning at Breakfast Club, the last butterfly made its appearance, gently emerging with its wings crumpled and wet. It soon dried out and began fluttering around with the others. As instructed, we placed small pieces of fruit in the bottom of the net which the butterflies feasted on for the next few days before their release on the last day of term."

Then the butterflies were set free outdoors.

Miss David added: "Two flew to the top of the net immediately and flew away. The other three took a little tempting! The final butterfly was reluctant to leave and even landed on a couple of children before taking to the air.

"This experience was fantastic for engaging children in learning, thinking about lifecycles and saying goodbye to something we had become quite attached to. Our own butterfly group have now left Busy Bees as they embark on their next adventure - starting school in September."

Kind regards,

Emma Davis

Manager (ter