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| Jennifer Best, Kindergarten teacher at Haynes School for Enriched Studies |
Several years ago, when I was doing an author visit at a
school in Los Angeles, I met Jennifer Best, a kindergarten teacher. Each
spring, her students learn about life cycles. Two years ago I spent time in her
classroom while they were hatching chicken eggs in an incubator. That resulted
in my book
Hatching Chicks in Room 6. At the same time, the class was also
raising Painted Lady butterflies from caterpillars, watching the caterpillars
grow in a jar, turn into chrysalises, and, after a week or so, emerge as
beautiful butterflies. It seemed like the perfect sequel to
Hatching
Chicks in Room 6.
As with the book about chicks, I realized that the best way
to tell this story was with photographs. I had taken photographs for some of my
other books, so I decided to do it myself. I embedded myself in Jennifer Best’s
classroom, which enabled me to follow the process and get the photos I needed.
(A challenge in taking the photographs was that neither the children nor
butterflies stayed still for long!) Spending so much time in the classroom also
allowed me to interact with the kindergarten students, which helped me to
target my text at the right level. The children’s enthusiasm was contagious as
they learned about butterflies and had the thrill of releasing them outdoors
and watch them fly into the neighborhood. I am extremely grateful to Jennifer
Best for her cheerful cooperation in this project and for being my expert
reader. I couldn’t have done this book without her.
Butterflies
in Room 6 is a book for primary age children about raising butterflies
in the classroom. This photo essay follows the process of metamorphosis from a
tiny egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, and finally to the emergence of the
adult butterfly. Children observe each stage up close as they learn firsthand
about a butterfly’s life cycle. Then, when the butterflies are a few days old,
the children release them in the school garden.
Raising butterflies from caterpillars is a popular
project at home and in school, with supplies easily available on the internet
or at many museums and nature centers. The book includes scientific information
that is written at a level understandable to young children. It is ideal to use
with STEM or STEAM curriculums.
