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The Lesson of the Butterfly!

By Hero's Journey Academy

In this article

The Butterflies are here!

Our studio got caterpillars for the Gardening Quest this year! We have been watching them carefully and learning about the stages of a butterfly. In order to take care of the caterpillars, they needed to do research. So they partnered up and did research on the different stages to present it to the class!

Three children in yellow shirts gather around a butterfly habitat on a classroom table
Children sit on a rug watching a hero present butterfly research in a studio
Children sit on a rug while a guide stands by the shelves during a classroom lesson

Once our butterflies emerged out of the cocoons, they were so excited! They made nectar to feed the butterflies with a mixture of sugar and water. The Eagles also looked up different fruits that butterflies can have!

Children sit on a rug watching two eagles present butterfly stages on a classroom screen
A boy in a yellow shirt reaches into a butterfly habitat beside a world map
Three heroes gather around a butterfly habitat in class while one feeds a butterfly

The Eagles are starting a Maintenance Garden Checklist! They have planted their seeds and each Eagle is responsible for at least one of them. They decided that each Eagle will water their assigned plant and observe to take notes to share to the group.

Three children lean over a black bin outdoors, working together in the garden
Two Eagles plant seeds together in a raised garden bed beside a fence and a backhoe
Girl outdoors holds a small planter and paper beside a table with garden tools and seed tray
Two eagles draw and color at an outdoor picnic table with papers and crayons

The Lesson of the Butterfly!

When we started our butterfly journey, we had 5 caterpillars. Four of the five have emerged from their cocoon, the Eagles became concerned about the fifth caterpillar. They had a discussion with each other:_What’s going to happen to it?How do we save it?Should we help it out of its cocoon?Do we kill it and put it out of its misery?We should use it as a science experiment and dissect it!_We wonder what the Eagles will do with the little cocoon…This lead into our launch this week about The Lesson of the Butterfly!_A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Life’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Remember nature needs no help, just no interference. There are processes of life, things we all go through. The struggles are a part of our journey and are preparing us for what awaits. They are preparing us to fly._The Eagles had a discussion and they were able to relate to the butterfly. The struggle of leading, decision-making, and mentoring is what helps us transform and emerge from our cocoons.

Eagles sit in a circle on a rug in a classroom during a discussion with a projected screen

What Makes a Picture Book Memorable?

This week for Writers’ Workshop, we looked at different images to see if they can remember the story from a picture!

Illustration of a child holding a rabbit and other animals while a butterfly hangs above
Illustration of woodland animals gathered around a table under a tree for a picnic
Illustration of four furry animals hanging from tree branches around a butterfly

The Eagles were able to make out what story it was based off of the pictures! In our discussion we asked the Eagles:**What contributes more to making a picture book memorable: the pictures, or the story? Do the illustrations you chose make your story memorable by themselves, or do you need to focus on the words to make your story memorable?**The Eagles worked on what they needed to focus on for their books and continued drafting.The Little Eagles have been working on their first draft for their final letter of the year!

Eagles sit on a rug watching a projected lesson in the classroom

Outdoor PE!

This week the Eagles went outside for PE and played different activities like volleyball, softball, jump rope games, and parachute games! These games will help the Eagles with their teamwork and cooperation.

Young boy stands outdoors with arms outstretched beside a picnic table and white wall
Two children stand on the grass outside a building, one smiling in a green shirt and the other near the wall
Three children play outside by a building, tossing balls during outdoor PE
Boy in green shirt and blue shorts holds a red ball on the grass during outdoor PE
Children and a guide hold a colorful parachute during outdoor PE beside a metal building

Art for MakerSpace!

The Eagles used inspiration from the Art Board to help them with MakerSpace this week!

Art board with examples labeled Painting, Sculpting, and Drawing for MakerSpace
Child works on a rainbow drawing at a table with a purple tray and art supplies
Two heroes write first-draft letters at a white table with a laptop and papers
Child in a yellow shirt paints on a large sheet of white paper at a table
A child paints a butterfly on a tray at a white table

Peer Approval!

We use peer approvals in our studio in 2 ways:

  1. Badge Approval
  2. Where there is a group challenge where points are based on intentional time put into the challenge or points are based on participation

This is a tool they use to help with peer accountability throughout the year!

Two heroes lean over a laptop at a MakerSpace station in a cubicle
A child sits at a MakerSpace table reading a butterfly booklet beside a black privacy panel
A child in a blue chair works at a small desk with paper and colorful MakerSpace supplies
Several learners sit in a circle on a rug with hands raised in a MakerSpace studio

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