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The Metamorphosis of Butterflies – Photos, Our Experiment & Study | Homeschooling

July 27, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

Hatching butterflies is probably a pretty standard experiment and study for students, in both formal and home school educations alike. It’s one that can be used as a Science participation lesson more than once in the course of ones education, because the benefits of the lesson are different for various ages.

For very young students, such as toddlers-K, it’s a really fun & exciting process to watch every day. At this age, they are full of both intelligent, and sometimes humorous, questions. They are able to grasp the basic understanding of the stages. Some little ones may rather non-nonchalantly accept the transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly, simply as magic, in a way.

Older students comprehend the cycle and the information of the lesson at hand, on a bit of deeper level. Their more mature experiences of curiosity and intake of the study of nature and Creation, throughout their ages of years, has led them to a wiser perspective. They are more fascinated than ever, by the works of God, and the magnitude of His power. They may also more readily make observations, younger ones may not pick up on, such as happened in our family, that I’ll tell you about shortly, further into this post.

Our study was of the butterfly species, the Painted Lady. We purchased what we needed at a lovely nearby place called The Butterfly Garden Boutique, in Bourne, MA. The owner was very friendly, helpful and informative, and supplied us with live caterpillars in a container with their food, and a small net pavilion. (Larger pavilions are available as well.).

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-1 We had 5 live caterpillars, and it wasn’t a day or 2 after getting them home, did a couple begin to make their way to the top of the container. Inside the lid of the container provided, is a fabric like piece of material, for the caterpillars to attach themselves to for their transformation process. We learned they do this, by dispensing a thread from a hole beneath their mouths.

By the following day, the rest followed.

Once each of the 5 were hanging, the transformation begins rapidly. They first shed their skin, revealing a the green casing that is their chrysalis.

Once we had 5 chrysalises attached to the material, we carefully took off the lid of the container, and pinned the material to the inside of our pavilion near the bottom, as instructed.

Here is a closer look. It was evident which chrysalises attached first, and which were more recently formed. It was absolutely fascinating to learn, that the inside of the chrysalises in this pupa stage, the caterpillar is turning into a complete liquid form, before forming into a butterfly. In this photo, you can see the the patterns of butterflies, through the somewhat transparent casing.

As a reference of sizes, this is our small tent-like pavilion, and you obviously can see the chrysalises pinned to the back bottom. The door is only unzipped and open for the sake of this photo. Throughout the entire study, the pavilion resided here on the shelving table-top, between our school room and kitchen. The kids were allowed to look anytime, but not touch the tent, as to not disturb the chrysalises. Of course, I carefully did open the door now and then, to take photos.

Some mornings later, there was all kinds of excitement in the house…..

Michael got up (very) early for his morning church job, and discovered a butterfly had emerged sometime during the night! He woke the little ones up to show them, and soon they were running through the house to spread the word. To {A} and Mama. Darn! We missed it.

Right above the butterfly, you can see the empty casing the butterfly emerged from.

Those who observe butterfly hatching for the first time, may be surprised to learn that the hatching process is somewhat of a messy business! The red staining you see, almost appears to be blood, but it is actually just the leftover liquid excreted from the formation of the butterfly, through the pupa stage. In other words, waste.

Just as mentioned before, it is even more noticeable now, which butterflies are likely to hatch next. Can you guess? It would be the darkest one.

Our first hatched butterfly of the 5.

As unfortunate luck would have it, we unbelievably missed the actual emerging of every butterfly from it’s casing! Seriously. The 2nd one came out while we were not aware, because we were busy doing a math lesson. 2 others emerged while we were sleeping, once again. And the 5th was while we were not home. So you know what this means! We need to do this again!

At the beginning of this post, I was talking about the benefits and differences of children doing a butterfly metamorphosis study. Our oldest, {A}, hatched butterflies twice, consecutively, when she was very little, and an only child. This time, being much older and wiser teenager, was a whole different experience for her, such as the following occurrence:

It was fairly late at night, and the little ones were in bed, when I was in the kitchen and peeked in at the butterflies, and spontaneously exclaimed, “Oh my!”. {A}, who was in the kitchen too, looked in and, without surprise or question, said “Oh yeah, they’ve been doing that like, every night.” Then gave me some wide eyes and a giggle. Butterflies waste no time, to get mating, once they are emerged! They only live 2-3 weeks, so they have little time to get pro-creatin’! ; ) Over the course of our study, there was many observations she had had, as the oldest, and more in-depth facts she was aware of. So it’s a continual learning process as the kids grow, and still the fascination of the whole cycle, never wears off. Not even for me!

We decided that the evening of {A}’s 14th birthday, was the perfect time to release our butterflies. We had had a wonderful family day together, and the time had come, and seemed right.

Our gardens seemed to be the perfect place to let them go, as well. We hoped perhaps they would stick around the garden beds for at least a few days, and do some pollination work for us! But first, the kids took a few more minutes to just watch their Painted Ladies, and say goodbye.

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Then they opened the door, to set them free.
One flew out right away!

The others needed some encouragement.

Finally, out flew another. {A} was reaching in to lift one that was determined not to move…

….while out flew 2 more.

This one seemed quite as hesitant to leave us, just as we have been to let them go.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-20 Soon, it fluttered off the kid’s hands, to a nearby garden flower.

We really enjoyed this study, and plan to return to The Butterfly Boutique again very soon, to spend some time in their Butterfly House, which is a screen house guests can enter, full of plants, flowers, a water fountain, and you guessed it…..lots of live butterflies! There’s also a Gift Shop, with beautiful butterfly-related jewelry, home decor, and more. And the Hungry Caterpillar Snack Bar! The boutique as a whole is a small but charming and fun place, for kids and adults alike. If you live nearby, or find yourself visiting Cape Cod, The Butterfly Boutique is very near both the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges. Visit their web site to get more information, and their exact location, which is so easy to get to.

As you probably know, butterfly kids can be ordered online as well, such as from here. There is also numerous resources to assist you and your children with educational information and activities. I have gathered just a couple of links for you today. For your younger ones, this web site has simple and minimal basic information about the life-cyle of the butterfly. Here is a print-out as well, to just review, or use as a guide with what to expect, as you are hatching your own butterflies. For your older children (middle school +), this link offers more in-depth information about the life of butterflies.

It’s important to remember, that children who have fun learning, will enjoy it and seek to learn more. Case in point, our children have continued to use the butterfly pavilion, with self-launched studies all on their own. Following the release of our butterflies, the kids found a HUGE furry, nasty-looking cocoon in our woods, and were excited to see what would emerge! (I was rather scared. I thought maybe a bear….or one of those seemingly evil hummingbird-moth-things.) I will share photos of what came of THAT pupa, on our Facebook Page, very soon! So be sure you are following us! At this very moment as I type, that pavilion now holds 11 moths, and 1 large grasshopper, as the kids study them.

The learning never ends, at Our House Of Joyful Noise. Thanks for visiting with us for this post, and please feel welcome to share your own experiences, studies and observations, with butterflies, or any other insects!

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Garden Peek!> Early Summer 2011

July 20, 2011 By Laura 1 Comment

I believe we’ve been both gardening and blogging, for about 3 years. Our life is filled with so many various passions, there is more than we are actually able to get to blogging. I sure try to get it all in though! But one area that is especially hard to keep you all updated with, is the gardening! Good gosh. Things grow and change SO fast, by the time I photograph what I want, edit the photos, and start putting a post together (while you know, living my life and doing 1,000 other things in the midst of it all), the post report, explaining the photos I took, don’t seem very current by the time I get to typing it out! But my intent today, is really just to share with you all what we’ve got growing this year.

In that light, after the first photo, the photos in this post were taken in early July. As I type, it is the 20th of July. Still, while reporting with photos is unavoidably a little delayed, we like to try and give you the picture of the process as a whole, even if the photos are a little behind the 8-ball of the gardens in the moment. I imagine it is all still relate-able for the interested gardeners (or wannabes) reading, and perhaps it opens a door for conversation, as you reflect back on the few weeks prior to your own gardening-status, and the subsequent changes. So we’re going to roll with this delay-thing we have going on in the gardening blog-shares, and hope you all can too.

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One thing we did differently this year, that we have not done in the past 2 years, is start our vegetable plants from seed! Our experience with gardening has been that we learn a little more every year. While we were somewhat successful in growing the plants from seed indoors, to transplant to the garden beds come Memorial Day weekend, I’m not sure our timing was right with everything. (?) For example, our pepper plants started out so tiny in the beds, that I couldn’t imagine them ever producing fruit this season! But in sharing this with my Mother-in-law when she visited in early June, she mentioned those seeds probably should be planted in February or so. She and my Father-in-law kept a beautiful yard full of gardens when they lived in this area. In the course of our conversation, I could not even remember the month we actually did start the seeds. But I was sure it was not that early! The packaging of the seeds did not say, that I could tell, how long prior to replanting, that the seeds should be started. It only seemed to say how many weeks before they should bare their first fruits. So….I was winging it all. All of the seeds did sprout, grow plants, and were transplantable. In fact, some grew too tall to keep the clear cover on, for the greenhouse effect. What to do about that? And as I said, maybe different seeds should have started at different times. But when, for each variety, is my question. So, more researching to be done, and more lessons to be learned. But as I have said all along, the learning as we go is half the fun! Next year , also, I’ll keep a record of when the seeds were put in the soil. At least write the date on the containers!

Here is just a couple of other small points to note: 1) As a reference, these photos were taken in early July. Things have grown and changed a lot since then. So we plan to update you soon, but a little after the facts of course. : ) 2) Please pay no mind to the very patchy crabgrass, in our sand-dirt, that needed mowing badly. It was done that evening. But I am working on not procrastinating photos or a post, due to a likely irrelevant detail, so don’t call me out on that, or I may have a relapse with my self-therapy. ; ) Alrighty?

Here in Bed #1 we have little pepper plants on the far right, behind the Marigolds.There is Green Peppers, and Jalapenos. Aside from the Marigolds, we also have Cosmos, and a sweet single Sunflower that {O} grew. I plant the Marigolds and Cosmos in ever bed, to attract bees and butterflies, for assistance in pollination. But also, because I love bees and butterflies. : ) On the far left, we have Cucumbers growing.

In Bed #2, we are growing Yellow Summer Squash and Zucchini. We were adamant about the squash varieties growing in another bed this summer, after last year’s devastation! Some of you may recall the sudden and devastating death of our squash bed last year, and eventual discovery of the culprit! More on our remedy for this in just a bit. But also in this garden bed is something new we are trying to grow Sugar Snap Peas! We had no idea what we were doing there at first, but I researched it and learned quickly. They started out ‘thin’, in my Mother-in-law’s word. That was her nice way of saying ‘puny’ I think. Made me giggle. But they are looking GOOD now. A closer look on that in just a minute as well. All else we have here, is the Marigolds, Cosmos, and still sitting there is our now-virtually-famous Coke Bottle Box and Candy-Cane Striped Petunias. There’s also a few Snap Dragon in that box.

Promising buds of squash.

Squash Flowers. No, we have not prepared them as a recipe in any way yet. Fried? Stuffed? It just sounds strange to me. We’ll see who can convince me.

We were pretty excited to see these 2 pods! I have fond memories of picking & gobbling peas in my aunt’s garden, when I was little. I want our kids to be able to do the same.

So as I implied earlier, I wasn’t sure starting out, how we would do producing Sugar Snap Peas this first year. But regardless, I have loved watching them climb our wooden frame, and zig-zagging twine. The hornets are ‘having at’ that wood frame, by the way. I’ve found myself watching & studying their activity intently, both fascinated & irked at the same time. I hope the frame holds up through the season anyway. It’s easy enough for Michael to whip another one up next year. As an update, the peas are doing wonderfully, and I’ll show you more on that next garden post.

Garden #3 is the Strawberry Bed.

You are welcome to check out the post prior to this one, for lots of photos and chat on our Strawberries this year.

Another new learning experiment this year. Since last year we learned that we planted our Pumpkin Patch too soon, this year we thought we’d try using the bed as a Watermelon Patch first! The kids planted the seeds into this bed themselves. You can hardly see them well in this early photo, but let me point them out among the Marigold plants. The Watermelon plants are in the upper far left, the one in the middle-ish, and far center-right. There were just a couple others that the squirrels pulled out, before we got to spraying a Deer-Off border. So I planted a row of 6 new Watermelon seeds in the soil vertically on the far right side. Updated photos of the plants will be coming up too. We’re not sure if we’ll actually get Watermelons this year either, as my Mother-In-Law said those should have been planted earlier too. But the plants are spreading like mad now, and I did catch a glimpse of a flower. So there’s a small chance we’ll get at least 1 melon. Heyyyy, we can split it!

Lastly, in Bed #4 we have 4 Varieties of Tomatoes: Cherry, Early Girl, Big Boy & Beefsteak.

This is the bed that was our Squash Bed last year! First, we screened all of the soil, looking for any Vine Borers that were hibernated down into the soil, pupating, after the devastation they do in the year prior, waiting to reak new havoc again this year! We learned that’s what they tend to do! We didn’t really seem to find any, but we used a new bed for the squash this year just in case. Besides, we try to rotate the beds every year or 2, so the soil is not depleted of any nutrients from one particular plant variety.

Some Cherry Tomatoes on the vine.

Marigolds.

Cosmos.

And lastly, a quick look at how our Mailbox Garden Tub has filled in….

early-flower-vegetable-garden-photos-15 I love how the Calibrachoa spill over.

early-flower-vegetable-garden-photos-16 And I have always loved Snap Dragons.

THIS, is not a photo from early July, but a more recent photo after some picking, last weekend. We have been enjoying Yellow Summer Squash, Zucchini, and Cucumbers, so far.

And that my friends, is your Late Garden Report! Stay tuned for more Late Reporting, right here in the The Homestead ~Home & Gardens section, of Our House Of Joyful Noise. Meanwhile, I’m open to some sharing and garden chat in the comments!

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Shabby-Chic Fan Pull & Pillow | Craft and Home Decor

July 19, 2011 By Laura 4 Comments

I know! It’s been awhile since I’ve made a ceiling fan pull, huh? Hey, a girl only has so much time to craft! But once I got this new one in my head, I couldn’t go out & get the supplies to make it, fast enough. I made it, and then I was so excited to see it up, that I took down my summer fan pull, to put it up.

I’m all about farmhouse style, to the core. But I definitely dig a little Shabby Chic. It’s just a wonder to me, because when I was a little girl, I hardly had a feminine bone, and I was sure I never would. I even recall a mylar motorcycle poster on my bedroom wall at one point. But here I am!

I really dig pink, lace, and Shabby-Chic-ness.

This fan pull has that kind of feel to me. You? That’s what I was going for, anyway.

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I found THE perfect beads at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. I used the style of the round soft pink ones (in various colors) so many times. But how about those rose ones, huh? I swear my heart skipped a beat, when I saw those.

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And despite the fact that I used a large glass pendant just like this one in green, for a spring fan pull, this pink one went way too perfectly, for this pull too.

Besides, I couldn’t find a big pretty rose to use. Not at that store anyway. And this worked nicely.

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I was so excited to add my last little touch: a lace ribbon bow.

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It looks so pretty, hanging in the middle of the room, that the summer fan pull may not make it back up, this year.

(If you’d like to check out all of my other fan pulls I’ve made so far, you can search ‘fan pulls’ in the category box later, in the sidebar.)

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I’ve been meaning to share something else with you all, since um….February?! The big Shabby Chic Pillow, that Michael got me for Valentine’s Day. <3

shabby-chic-pillow-home-decor How pretty is this embroidered pattern?

It’s a satin like thread, on a light polyester, I guess.

shabby-chic-pillow-home-decor-1 The texture of the thread-work plays so awesome in the light.

So does the crocheted lace trim.

shabby-chic-pillow-home-decor-3 Lovely, isn’t it?

shabby-chic-fan-pull-craft-6 Yes, when the kids come in from playing, all covered in dirt, I preach! “Oh boy! You better be SURE not to touch-my-PILLOW!”. (And between you and me, I may have a few heart palpitations with that preachin’.)

Yes, I COULD just wash it. But then I’d have to iron it again too! And I really despise ironing.

Oh, which reminds me, that yes, this pillow cover IS removable. Check out the back….

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It’s the details. You know?

I don’t know why I get so crazy over this stuff. But I do. Like….butterflies. Over so many little things in life. Not kidding.

Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing my Shabby Chic fan pull & pillow.
Thanks for stopping by.

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7 Layer Salad, with Sides – Summer Light & Just Right | Recipe

July 18, 2011 By Laura 3 Comments

If you live in a climate where summers can be hot & humid, than you probably have days like me when you can’t even think of cooking dinner, in a hot kitchen. You’re looking for a meal that is cool, light, and delicious. We probably all have our regular stand-bys, but I just discovered a new favorite, and I’m here to share it with you!

One of the best parts of having link-up party on Tuesdays, has not only been the simple home decor or craft ideas, but the recipes shared! This ‘7 Layer Salad’ was a link-up, and I thought it was so enticing, we made it right away, and then featured it! > Because our whole family loved it! As I said in the feature, even the kids were ‘scoffin’ & commentin’ through the whole meal, and were thrilled to have leftovers the next night. (Honestly, they cheered.)

7-seven-layer-salad-recipe I think the name alone, 7 Layer Salad, is FUN, and sound enticing. And the great thing is, if you don’t care for one of the ingredients/layers, you can substitute it with something you prefer, and still call it 7 Layer Salad! But we made it just like the recipe called for, and it was a hit in our mouths, and our bellies.

Here’s the recipe, layer-by-cool & easy-layer:

7-seven-layer-salad-recipe-1 7 Layer Salad

*In order that ingredients are put into the bowl, building bottom to top:

6 cups fresh, washed Spinach
2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved (Cherry Tomatoes would work too.)
1 cup Red Onion, chopped
1-1/4 cup frozen Peas, thawed & drained
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
6 slices Bacon, cooked & chopped*
3 Hard-Boiled Eggs, quartered or sliced

* Use microwavable bacon! Remember, we not cooking tonight! ; )

Then, I added a few perfect sides, still keeping the meal cool & light:

Some fresh and cold rolled-up Turkey meat & Apple slices.

Serve with a tall glass of cold lemonade, and you have yourself a perfect and light summer meal! Lunch or dinner!

(OK, that particular glass in the photo, happened to be my Mike’s Hard Lemonade. But, you know, can do Country Time if you’d like!)

As a salad dressing, consider Balsamic Vinegar, or a Raspberry Vinaigrette. My kids love both, but yours may prefer their regular favorite.

As if this meal wasn’t perfect enough to me, I added my favorite topping. Most every salad is ‘betta, with Feta’.

Scrum-de-licious!

Of course, you have the option of swapping out any ingredient layer you don’t care for, and swapping in one you do!
What changes might you make to your layer salad?

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HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR SENIOR PHOTOS MIX

July 12, 2011 By Laura 1 Comment

Shooting high school senior photos, is one of my very favorite parts of being a professional photographer.

(2 paragraphs, and then it’s 40-something photos. Please give them a minute to load, after opening, before scrolling. )

I’ve been shooting high school seniors for about 13 years now. Naturally, my work has really evolved since my early years. (Thank goodness.) I’ve always taken a limited number seniors each season, to be able to give each individual my creative best, because it’s the creative process I love, and those customized portraits that reflect my seniors true personality, that they deserve. Shooting every senior in the same spot, in the same style, and positioned the same way, is far from my style! I’m not a volume photographer, and I won’t ever care to be. I want to get a good feeling for who they are on the inside, so it shines on the outside. They have dreams, and passions, and souls. Their portraits should reflect who they are as a person. Not look like a replica of every other senior’s photos. It’s my own individual style of working with my seniors, and creating portraits that stand out and highlight their uniqueness, and what is important to them, that has helped me succeed as a photographer, and given my business a name in this field, in my area. I’m blessed that there have been so many clients over the years who have wanted to work with me, because they could see, and truly understand, my mission, beyond the yearbook photo.

Because I invest so much creative thought process into my seniors, I needed to take a season hiatus last year. It was the first senior season I took off, but it was necessary for me to focus on important things in my life. This year, I am lining a few seniors up again for this summer, and there is some unique & exciting stuff involved! Although some of these seniors have posts in this blog that are a partial collection of their photos only, I wanted to share with you a mix from the past few years. In viewing them remember….they are not not lumped together as youth at this age. While they all (except 1, was a year later or so) have the common thread of it being their high school graduation year, they are as unique as their photos, with their own personal dreams and gifts. It’s my belief that God has a life plan for each one of them, individually, and it’s up to each of them to find it. Led by their passions, using their gifts, as the powerful tools they were designed and born with, to do so. It’s my hope that I am some part of sending them off on their way, into the world to find their way, believing in gift of who they are, like no other, and believing that their life has a divine purpose, meant for only them to live .

Laura Lee Richard Photography Plymouth MA

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Laura Lee Richard Photography Plymouth MA

Thanks for looking!

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