Metamorphosis

As I watch our many caterpillars make their chrystalises in our family room, I can't help but think of Tiny B's life and how she started out as a tiny baby in my womb, whom doctors thought wouldn't make it. I remember sitting on the hospital bed five and a half weeks before her birth and telling a doctor that I knew she wasn't going to make it, and that doctor telling me to not lose hope...She was the only doctor who had any words of encouragement during that time. 

She was born a tiny 1 pound 11 ounce baby, who slowly grew, yet continued to struggle with sitting up, rolling over, and eating. She got her feeding tube at 9 months-old when she stopped eating and she didn't walk until she was 2.5 years old. 

Slowly she started scooting around the room on her butt and then pulling herself to stand with a lot of practice, and finally she walked (after some doctors said she might not) and she slowly started to be able to skip, and at 5 years-old she finally fed herself enough to not be supported by her feeding tube. 

I'm absolutely intrigued by our caterpillars and I have literally spent hours this weekend watching them circle their container, hang in a J position, and finally form their chrysalis. The majority did it at the same time but there were a few who were very behind and haven't made it to chrysalis form yet, but we're watching and waiting.  

They all do it in their own time and when they're ready, just like my little girl. Tiny B has formed her chrysalis and she's emerging, with her little wings. We are focusing more on experiences and interest-based learning rather than it being all about writing her letters and making sure she knows sight words. I pray that I've met the right balance for her in transitional kindergarten. In the coming months I am going to move more towards these concrete skills because she does start kinder in the fall (homeschooling with me still, but she'll also attend her public charter school two days a week) and that's going to be a definite shift, but I'm still going to follow her lead and place more priority on experiences (such as seeing the musical "Lion King" last night and entering a plank challenge today!

Yep, she was in a plank challenge today and held her plank for one minute and thirty-five seconds and would have gone longer if the other kids didn't start coming out of it. It amazed me. Behind us is the man who did the world record plank today at around five hours and thirty five minutes! 

She is turning into a beautiful butterfly right before my eyes. A tiny but beautiful butterfly. 

On the day that we learned what a chrysalis was, we did the "Wrapped in a Chrysalis" activity from Mother Goose Time. 

Strong B and Tiny B acted out the stages of the lifecycle of a butterfly, from egg on a leaf to beautiful butterfly. This activity engaged them for a long time. I don't have pictures of Strong B because he was running around like a crazy child. He loved wrapping himself in his Lightening McQueen blanket chrysalis and emerging as a butterfly living on buckets of sugar. 

We also did a patterning activity that day and read a bilingual book. My dad's first language is Spanish, and therefore Tiny B has taken quite the interest in it. 

We had to go to Tiny B's twice yearly orthopedist appointment. I brought our Mother Goose Time activities for the day's lesson, which was on butterflies. I love the portability of the program! I just brought glue, scissors, crayons, and the bag of activities, and we were set to go--I mean wait--in the room until the doctor could come in! We completed the Lifecycle Plate activity in its entirety before the doc came in. 

These appointments are so hard on me. But they are all a part of her making her metamorphosis. 

In our caterpillar homes at this point, we had two chrysalises, two hanging caterpillars, and one caterpillar still doing laps on the bottom of the cup. In a few weeks they will emerge with a new life. I love being able to show my children the wonder of God's creation, and I'm going go come up with an activity for them to see just how similar they are to these little caterpillars.