Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Butterfly

In preparation for our butterfly study, we read Patricia Polacco's The Butterfly. It's an account of the Holcaust from the point of view of a child - Patricia's great-aunt Monique - in France as she helps Jews escape and hide. Monique becomes friends with a girl named Severine, who is hiding in her cellar with her family. The butterfly in the story symbolizes freedom, as the girls pray that Severine and her parents may one day return to their normal lives. Eventually, Severine must leave Monique's home as their cover has been blown. She loses her parents to a Nazi concentration camp, but survives and reunites with her long lost friend.


Here is a clip from a play that was adapted from the book:

We watched this YouTube Monarch Butterfly video

as well as this time lapse video of a butterfly emerging from its crysalis.






We created these cute butterfly life cycle plates that I started making with my class years ago. (This pic is from Somewhat Simple though. Click the pic to see how to make them!

We also created symmetric butterflies.