Kids love butterflies! Our butterfly garden provides a colorful array of nectar-producing plants that not only attract butterflies (and often hummingbirds as well), but offers plants to feed the caterpillar stage of their life cycle. Our butterfly garden provides a habitat that increases the diversity of butterflies and other pollinators, including bees, flies, and beetles. Our garden is supported by our amazing Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) who organizes an annual clean-up and refresh of the space.
Come by and visit our garden and you might get a glimpse of our pollinators in action!
Observation of butterflies has four main benefits:
1. Satisfying Natural Curiosity
A butterfly garden is an ecosystem that will be teeming with a wide variety of insect and plant life. This is in effect a natural classroom where kids can get their questions answered about these various species of plants and animals.
Although the focus will be on the lifecycle of the butterfly, there is a wider interplay between them and their environment that’s interesting to explore.
2. Observing the Butterfly Life Cycle
Attracting butterflies into a purpose-built butterfly garden is the perfect opportunity to observe their entire lifecycle up close. This will begin with the laying of eggs and the eventual emergence of the hungry caterpillar.
The small caterpillar will then consume large quantities of tasty plant matter that you planted for them to grow and become stronger. When the time is right, the caterpillars will form a chrysalis to make the change to a butterfly.
When the butterfly finally emerges, it is a magical experience for kids and adults too. This can instill in the kids a real understanding of nature and how all living things are interconnected.
3. Butterfly Gardens Inspire Creativity
Butterflies appear frequently in the art and mythology of cultures everywhere in the world for very good reasons. The lifecycle of a butterfly can be observed multiple times throughout the lifespan of a single person.
It can be seen as a metaphor for the fragility of life and the importance of struggling to survive. Although younger artists may not understand the wider implications of these observations, they will still be inspired to draw, paint, and photograph these fascinating creatures.
This gives them a valuable creative outlet and as a bonus, you get some colorful art for the refrigerator door!
4. Improving Kids’ Observation Skills
We live in a world of distractions, and it can be hard for kids to develop observation skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. To observe a butterfly properly, it’s important to be calm, patient, and methodical after the initial excitement passes.
Close observation of the butterfly can reveal the species, its preferred food source, and a host of other interesting information. Developing a keen eye for detail at earlier ages is a wonderful way to encourage a child to be observant and mindful of their surroundings. (from fun gardening for kids)
