By Kathy Thompson

CAPRON

Capron Elementary School was excited to receive butterfly kits again this year from the International Paper Foundation. International Paper Foundation works in cooperation with Earth’s Birthday Project to distribute butterfly kits to classrooms throughout the Western Tidewater area. The kits provide painted lady caterpillars, butterfly houses, take-home activities and teacher’s guides with complete instructions for classrooms.

Jennifer Dixon, mill communications manager for International Paper, contacted our school and offered us the opportunity to provide this hands-on science experience for our students. Children in grades K-5 at Capron Elementary School were excited to participate in this project and enjoyed observing the metamorphosis of the caterpillars into beautiful butterflies. The students enjoyed the opportunity to use and develop their skills through the wonders of metamorphosis, anatomy and life cycles. The program also included a sunflower challenge kit, which allowed students to learn how sunflowers sprout and grow from seed to bloom.

Butterflies and other hands-on life science activities bring classrooms to life and fill students with curiosity about nature. Butterfly kits are designed to meet national and local science standards. We appreciate International Paper’s strong belief in the value of early elementary, science education. Their support of Earth’s Birthday Project’s Butterfly Classroom in providing this wonderful environmental education project is just another example of this commitment.

The educational experience of raising butterflies is something that the students will never forget. They learned about the life cycle of the butterfly because they watched the transformation day by day from the small caterpillar state all the way through the metamorphosis to a butterfly. They watched each stage of butterfly development carefully and enjoyed the educational experience.