Metamorphosis

Homeschooling this year, I wasn't really planning on doing too much with science. We often talk about the seasons, weather, our five senses, and things like that, and I thought for first grade that would be enough. God and Lige had different plans! A week or two after we started school, Lige brought home 2 caterpillars he had rescued from his work's parking lot. One was huge and black. The other was smaller and green. We found a container to house them, but didn't poke any holes in the lid at first. We just rested the lid on top a little ajar. Big mistake. Big Blackie escaped during the first night home. I did find him...about a week later, dieing on the first step downstairs. We made the decision to poke holes in the lid so the green one couldn't get away. I have to admit, I kind of liked taking care of a caterpillar. Every day we would take him outside for some fresh air. We'd find leaves and other foliage for him to eat. We learned that he really liked eating dandilion leaves: he'd devour them in less than a day. When we listened closely, we could hear his munching. I kick myself for not getting a picture of our cool green caterpillar, but Amana sketched one in her school journal. We looked up pictures online and learned our caterpillar would become a moth.


And then one day we awoke to find a bright orange cocoon! The black to the right of it in the picture is what's left of the caterpillar skin. We went to the library for a book on moths and butterflies. We learned (yes, I learned also!) that moths come from cocoons and butterflies from a chrysalis. We had no idea how long our caterpillar would be in the cocoon before it emerged a moth. Our research said it depended a lot on temperature. So, we waited.


We checked our cocoon everyday. It didn't really change much. It was very still, but sometimes the jostling would cause it to twitch and roll. It would roll the long way, like a corkscrew. Then it would stop.


So, we waited.


Then one morning we looked at it, and the bright orange had become darker, almost black. Upon observation, we thought we could see wings. For the next day, if the container was jostled even the slightest, the cocoon would spin like crazy...it was incredible to witness. But we didn't know for sure what was happening, so we waited.



On the morning of Day 22, we were headed out for the day. By chance, I glanced into the container as I was headed for the door. I thought I saw something moving! I held it up, and yes, WE HAD A MOTH!

I carefully took the lid off. The moth was making laps in his container. Marching like a soldier. It was exciting. We wanted to let him go, but I wanted Amana to study him closer during school time. Plus, we wanted Lige to see him before his release.

When we came home, he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead for sure. I shook the container a little and he would move ever so slightly. Amana got a good look at him for her journaling. I thought he would die before Lige got home. Finally, Lige arrived and took a peak. The moth still didn't look good, so we waited until after dinner. As I was cleaning up dinner, I caught sight of movement from the corner of my eye. Sure enough, our Moth was FLYING in his container! We knew it was now or never, so we took him to the front door, counted to three, and opened the container. The moth took off and never looked back. I was a little bummed. It would have been nice for it to flutter around for a minute or too. After all, I fed it and took care of it for 22 days. :) It was so fun. The kids really enjoyed each phase.

It's hard for me to witness this complete and unbelievable metamorphosis without thinking of the change God can make in our lives. 2 Corinthians 5: 17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come!"