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Nature Study: Bioluminescence

Have your kids ever seen pictures of glowing jellyfish , fireflies lighting up a summer night, or deep-sea creatures that shimmer in the dark? That magical glow is something called bioluminescence —and it’s one of nature’s most fascinating light shows! Angler Fish craft My class recently participated in a STEM workshop where they learned about bioluminescence in the deep sea. They learned about deep sea creatures like the Angler fish and how bioluminescence was part of their adaptation to the dark depths. They also had a blast making their own Angler fish complete with antennaes. Coincidentally, on this day we got to the chapters in ' The Wild Robot Escapes ' where Roz the robot was exploring the deep ocean and learning about bioluminescence, echolocation and the predatory nature of seabirds like the Skuas . (That's for another blog post!) For children, learning about bioluminescence offers an incredible way to bring science, nature, and imagination together. It’s a to...

How to make a Quick Simple Butterfly

As I mentioned in a previous post, I really like the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so much so that I’ve read it to my kids quite a few times. They’ve also read the Moonlite edition, played The Very Hungry Caterpillar game, watched the video short on YouTube and listened to Michelle Obama read the story. 

Needless to say it is a favorite and they can easily spot and identify a caterpillar and butterfly. It was no surprise then, when one morning when I was showering, I heard my 3 year old screaming with delight ‘Mommy, Mommy butterfly!’ 

Hungry Caterpillar game
The surprise was that the screaming and excitement lasted a full 10 - 15 minutes. This made me think a neighbor had just gifted them a new butterfly toy.


When I finally got dressed I heard the full cause for excitement. An orange butterfly got trapped in our screen door and was fluttering around for their little viewing pleasure, until their Dad freed it. 

Their excitement was so palpable that I had to build on the moment and create some simple one dimensional butterflies to add to their learning fun. 

My 3 year old's butterfly art and craft
My 3 yr old's butterfly art work

Here’s what we used to make our very own butterflies:

Materials 

  • Coloured Card stock paper 
  • Coloured popsicle sticks
  • Crayons
  • Coloured wool
  • Scissors
  • Glue 
  • Googley eyes
  • Your Imagination!

Steps

1. Paste the popsicle stick on the card stock paper

2. Draw a big number 3 on both sides of the stick.

3. Draw two antennas at the top of the stick and paste two googly eyes or dried peas. 

4. Colour and decorate with crayons, glitter and wool!

My 2 yr old's butterfly artwork



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