Barefoot Days

 Barefoot Days
Rachel Field

In the morning, very early,
That's the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning-O!
On a summer morning!

That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe-
Such a summer morning' O!
Such a summer morning!

20 Facts About The Caterpillar/Butterfly

       Caterpillar. Mrs. Sigourney has written a child's poem about a butterfly, in which the beautiful insect sings as it flies through the sunny air, "I was a worm till I won my wings." Truly the ancients never conceived a myth more beautiful and wonderful than this familiar story of nature - the life history of the butterfly. 

Stages of the caterpillar and butterfly.

1. The lovely, winged creature is the fourth and last step in the development of the insect, and the caterpillar is the second, for it is the larva, or worm, that hatches from the egg. 
2. A study of the origin of the word caterpillar shows that it means, literally, hairy cat. 
3. Everyone is familiar with the woolly kinds, and the name, so far as they are concerned, is not inappropriate. 
4. There are, however, hairless kinds, the skin of which is often beautifully marked lengthwise or crosswise, or covered with rings and eye-spots.
5. When the tiny caterpillar first emerges from the egg it proceeds to eat, for this is to be its chief duty during the larva stage. 
6. The eggs are always deposited where plant food can easily be reached. 
7. Before very long the skin of the worm becomes too tight, for it does not increase as the body grows larger.
8. Accordingly the caterpillar soon crawls out through a split which occurs near the front end; that is, it molts (see Molting). 
9. This process is repeated four or five times, and in each case a new skin has formed under the old one.
10. The body of a full-grown worm is usually divided into twelve rings or segments, and each of the first three rings bears a pair of five-jointed legs. 
11. There are also short leg- stumps on the abdomen, which disappear when the last molting takes place.
12. On each side of the head there are six eye-spots; the head also bears a pair of short, three-jointed feelers, besides jaws and other mouth organs. 
13. Glands, some with unpleasantly odorous or stinging secretions, frequently occur on the skin.
14. There comes a time when the caterpillar ceases to eat and begins to prepare for the so-called pupal, or resting, stage. 
15. The caterpillar stage lasts two or three months in temperate regions, but it may be of two or three years' duration in Arctic lands. 
16. The quantity of food eaten is used to nourish the pupa. 
17. Moth caterpillars spin a casing of silk about them, and form cocoons, while the pupal stage of butterflies is passed in a hard skin covering. 
18. Butterfly pupae are called chrysalids. 
19. When the pupa reaches maturity the outside casing splits open, and the butterfly comes out, rather crumpled and weak at first, but soon ready to spread its wings for a happy life in the sunshine. 
20. The same processes of development occur in the life history of moths.

More About The Caterpillar/Butterfly:

• "He Is Risen Indeed!" Butterfly Coloring Page
• Create a Butterfly Yarn Picture
• A butterfly maze puzzle by kathy grimm...
• Craft a Butterfly Mask
• Life Again! and The Cocoon
• The Butterfly Poem
• A Living Butterfly paper craft
• Handy Little Butterflies
• Craft a Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Craft a Pom-pom Caterpillar SWAPS

Caterpillar On The Wall

 

Caterpillar On The Wall
by Marion Ryan

Caterpillar on the wall,
Fuzzy, furry yellow ball!

Don't I wish that I could spy
You turning to a butterfly!

Will you be a yellow one,
Sparkling, golden, in the sun,

Or a dusky tan and brown,
Fluttering lightly up and down,

In and out among the flowers
All the warm sweet summer hours?

Caterpillar, please don't go
Till you've told me how you grow.

The Butterfly

The Butterfly

author unknown

"Don't kill me," caterpillar said,

As Clara raised her heel,

Upon the humble worm to tread,

As though it could not feel.

"Don't kill me- I will crawl away,

And hide me from your site,

And when I come, some other day,

You'll view me with delight."

The caterpillar went and hid

In some dark, quiet place,

Where none could look on what he did,

To change his form and face.

And then, one day, as Clara read

Within a shady nook,

A butterfly, superbly dressed,

Alighted on her book.

His shining wings were dotted o'er

With gold, and blue, and green,

And Clara owned she naught before

So beautiful had seen.

Craft your very own butterfly kite!

My teacher's sample kite. This would look even nicer
with a black background I think.

     Children love to craft kites in May and I love to design templates for them use for these playful activities. Below I have included two of my own butterfly designs. Here is also an additional link to a similar project that you can watch on a video and here is also a similar butterfly kite project from mothergoose.com

Supply List:

• Printed copies of my butterfly patterns provided below
• wooden skewers (clip off the tips)
• long straws
• scissors
• white school glue
• masking tape
• a variety of bright magic markers
• crepe paper streamers (any color)
• stapler

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. Download, and print the butterfly patterns included below. You may need to enlarge these a bit more in a Word Doc by pulling a corner of the jpg. to the edge of the document's screen.
2. Color the butterfly kite prints with bright magic markers.
3. Fold the butterfly's body in half at the dotted line.
4. Fold out apart from the first fold each butterfly wing. 
5. Inserted inside the first fold a long straw. Apply a generous amount of white glue to this crease. 
6. Insert your kite string through the drawn circle (hole) behind the straw by pricking through the paper with the tip of your scissors. This straw will give your kite strength. Tie a knot with the string and include the amount of length that will allow a small child to fly the kite perhaps no more than five yards above his or her head.
7. The backside of your kite should include a wooden skewer pasted horizontally to the top edge of the kite. I glued mine down and then taped over it in order to reinforce my kite's strength. This is the detail that will actually insure your kite's ability to fly. Be sure to clip off the pointed tips of the skewer before gluing it down to the backside of the kite. You don't want any young students poking each other with the tips during the assignment.
8. Staple on some colorful crepe paper "tails" in whatever color pleases your students.

Far left, As you can see, the butterfly's body is folded in half at the dotted line and then the wings are folded out apart from the first fold. Inserted inside the first fold is a long straw. It is held in place with white glue. Next, Although I have colored the butterfly's body, I have left the hole white so that you may see that the kite string should be tied off here, behind the straw. Insert the string through this hole and behind the straw. The straw will give your kite strength. Center, The backside of your kite should include a wooden skewer pasted horizontally to the top edge of the kite. I glued mine down and then taped over it in order to reinforce my kite's strength. This is the detail that will actually insure your kite's ability to fly. Far right, Staple on some colorful crepe paper "tails" in whatever color pleases your students.

Two butterfly kite patterns for young students to assemble and color.

Click directly onto the image in order to download the largest possible file size.

My young students enjoyed coloring their butterfly kites with bright colored markers.

I assembled the kites ahead of time for these little ones so that the only work they would
need to do would be to color in their butterflies and staple on the crepe paper tails.

Find More Spring Butterfly Crafts Here

"Love Bug" Valentines

      Ladybug Valentines are actually a relatively contemporary theme. Although these little critters have certainly been popular since I was a child. I have never seen a vintage Valentine including a lady bug but I suppose the possibility of such a thing may exist. 

      I have also included butterflies, crickets, snails and flies here among the collected ideas for Valentine bugs on this post. Young children are fascinated with tiny creatures and what little boy would be to embarrassed to receive a bug or two from a friend or classmate?

Ladybug Love Bug Valentine

Four detailed photos of my little Ladybug Love Bug Valentine up close.

To make the little Ladybug Love Bug Valentine you will need:

• a variety of bright red scrap papers
• black construction paper
• red construction paper (alternative to wrapping paper)
• google eyes
• black ribbon
• a heart shaped punch
• white glue 
• scissors
• pattern

 Step-by-step Instructions: 

1. Print and cut out my simple love bug pattern below.
2. Trace around the body pattern and then cut out as many of these as would like, using black construction paper.
3. For the wings, I used red wrapping paper scraps. Teachers may prefer to use red construction paper because the surface is easier to write upon.
4. You will need to cut two 'half heart' shaped wings for each love bug. One of these is pasted completely down to the body; the second is only pasted along the inside bottom edge of the wing so that a secret 'buggy' message or a small piece of candy may be neatly tucked inside. (see example above)
5. Glue on black hearts for the love bug spots; these may be punched or cut out by hand. 
6. Glue on googly eyes, heart shaped cheeks, and a black bow for the finished looking love bug.

Little "Love Bug" Lady Bug Valentine Pattern by Grimm

Love Bug Candy Pouch

Three detailed photos of my Love Bug Candy Pouch. The red doily heart may be purchased from a local craft or grocery store.

To make the Love Bug Candy Pouch you will need the following supplies:

• store bought, red doily hearts
• black chenille stems
• tiny red pom poms
• black ink marker
• heart hole punch (optional)
• pink and black construction paper
• scissors
• white glue
• shredded, shiny Easter grass
• masking tape

 Step-by-step Instructions: 

1. You will need to trace around the red doily on to the pink construction paper with a soft lead pencil. Then cut this shape out and paste it to the back side of the red lacy valentine.
2. Repeat the same step with the black construction paper only include a half circular shape at the top of the heart in order to suggest a 'head.' (see example of cut bug parts below)
3. Glue around the back side of the bug's red doily wings up to the top of the heart shape only. Remember to leave the top part of the heart shapes free from glue so that a pouch for candy may be left open!
4. Punch or cut tiny hearts from both the black and pink papers. You will only need two tiny heart shapes from the pink, as these will be used for your critter's little buggy eyes. The black hearts may be pasted randomly over the lady bug's red doily wings to mimic the spots on a real ladybug.
5. Write the word "Love Bug" on the pink paper and paste this to the center of the pouch's wings.
6. Now paste on the love bug's pink, heart shaped eyes and add the iris with a black pen. (see photo example above)
7. Cut two short antennas from the black chenille stem and glue on a tiny red pom pom to each end. Set this aside to dry.
8. After the antenna have dried, tape these to the back of your love bug's head and then glue a second circular shape cut from black construction paper to paste on top of the taped antenna. this will cover the chenille stems and strengthen the lady bug's head.
9. Stuff these lady bug pouches with shiny, red Easter grass and Valentine candy treats. Your students will love to make and take this little ladybugs home to either decorate with or give as a gift to a beloved family member.

The heart pieces needed to assemble the Ladybug Candy Pouch are pictured above.
You will need to cut the pink and black shapes from construction paper. The red doily
heart may be purchased from any hobby or drug store; these are common Valentine
craft supplies in the United States.

      After crafting a few ladybug pouches, I found I had too many left over red doilies so I came up with a second idea for using up my craft supplies. The doily candy pouch below is a bit more sophisticated don't you think? Perhaps it would be a better suited Valentine for my husband or for my older daughters? In our home, everyone exchanges Valentines with loved ones. It is not merely a day for romantic love interests. This red and black Valentine container will be a perfect valentine for any friend, family member or student once it is stuffed with a selection of dark chocolate covered caramels, yum.

Hanging Red Doily Candy Pouch

To make this second idea for a Hanging Red Doily Candy Pouch you will need to collect the following materials:

• black construction paper
• hole punch
• red doily
• small, sharp scissors
• red ribbon
• white glue
• red, shiny Easter grass
• red cellophane or tissue 
• stapler (optional)

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. Select a soft led pencil or a white drawing pencil to draw around the red doily, transferring a replica copy of the heart's size and lacy edge to a black piece of construction paper.
2. Cut this black heart out and set it aside for assembly.
3. Using sharp, small scissors, snip from the doily the parts of the embossed design that you do not want to include in your finished pouch design. I chose to emphasize the floral patterns.
4. Snip out the smaller, center heart to create a 'window' for the heart pouch as well.
5. Gently apply glue with the tip of your finger onto the back side of the red lace doily and then paste it on top of the black construction paper heart. 
6. Trace around the center of the doily heart a second time so that you will be able to cut from the black heart the exact same heart shaped hole that is in the doily design.
7. On the back side of your doily frame, paste a square of cellophane or tissue paper to cover the small 'window' of the pouch.
8. Now repeat the above seven steps if you would like the candy pouch to be the same on either of it's sides. If not, lay the finished frame shaped heart on an additional sheet of black or red construction paper to trace a replica shape for the back side of the pouch.
9. Squeeze out a thin layer of of glue around one of the hearts and adhere it to the second heart shaped frame to create a pouch. Remember to leave the upper half of the two hearts free from glue so that a basket like pouch remains. You could staple the two hearts together if you feel that your glue will not be strong enough to hold the pouch together. This would depend upon what you intend to stuff the Valentine with.
10. Polk a hole or use a hole punch on either side of the heat pouch in order to string your red ribbon into the Valentine for hanging after the glue has been allowed to dry sufficiently. (see picture above)

This photo depicts the order of preparing the heart shapes in order to assemble my Hanging, Red Doily Candy Pouch.

"Love bugs make perfect Valentine's Day party favors! You'll need craft supplies such as pipe cleaners, wiggle eyes, feathers, construction paper, foam, felt, a low-temperature hot glue gun with glue, and candy from HERSHEY'S. Use these materials and your imagination to create charming love bugs for your guests, or invite kids to make their own!HERSHEY'S makes life extraordinary! Check out more great ideas at http://www.hersheys.com/celebrate"

Vintage Bug Valentines:

"To my Valentine" butterfly bug card.

"Stick Around Valentine, Catch On" fly paper Valentine card.