For his fifth birthday, Jude asked for butterflies. Since I’ve never heard of a sweeter birthday wish than butterflies, and my boy is captivated by all things nature, we had to get them.
Now, we’ve only raised butterflies once before; I think that makes me a deficient homeschooler on some level, but there it is. Thankfully, my mother-in-law has achieved pro status in all things butterfly thanks to her years as a kindergarten teacher, so I knew I had a professional to consult if things went wonky at any point. (I highly recommend having a go-to person in your back pocket, because for some reason, there’s a ton of pressure one feels when responsible for providing the best environment for the safe metamorphosis of living creatures. Maybe it’s just me?)
The first time we raised butterflies, we ordered from directly from Carolina Biological Supply. This time, the shipping estimate nearly doubled the price, and we still had the pop-up butterfly house, so we ordered Painted Lady caterpillars from Carolina Biological Supply via Amazon (affiliate link) and paid about $15 less overall for the exact same thing. The lesson here is shop around. Oh, and… you really can buy anything from Amazon.
The caterpillars arrived slightly stunned and I was on the phone with my mother-in-law within minutes asking what to do to revive six mostly-dead creepers. (See, I told you having a butterfly lifeline was important!) Thankfully, they revived as we talked, and from there, we had the double joy of watching God’s creation doing exactly what it was made to do and delighting in Jude’s absolute awe at the daily wonder of the entire process.
Our only other blip was a chrysalis that fell (another phone call) and never emerged. That didn’t dampen Jude’s excitement, though. He enjoyed the flutterings and flights of his five Painted Ladies for a few days and then, on a damp afternoon when the sun finally peeked out, we released them.
Far from being a sad prospect, I think this was the highlight of the entire process for all of our younger kids. They marveled at seeing their little friends finally in their own natural habitat, nestling among leaves and flowers and ultimately taking wing.
I can’t think of a more appropriate birthday gift for a newly-minted five year-old than something that literally transforms before your eyes and ultimately has the power to fly. Jude has already turned the magical corner from preschooler to kindergartener. You can see it in his face (the soft cheeks are melting away), in the way he carries himself (he’s so, so tall), even in the way he talks (“Is this an appropriate amount of water in my cup?”). Yes, birthday butterflies were just right. I’m glad he thought of them!