I bought Lucy a Ladybug Land kit for Christmas this year and finally got around to sending away for the ladybug larvae a few weeks ago. Happily enough they showed up yesterday, nice and wriggly.
We’ve done the caterpillar/butterfly thing with Connor in the past, but I have to say that beetle larva are way more active and interesting to watch. Both kids are pretty delighted with it and excited by the prospect of watching them turn into ladybugs.
I figured I’d try this set during the summer – the last time we did the butterflies it was later in the fall. The butterflies went to fly off and then all promptly nose-dived into the lawn because it was too cold.
I really like this type of hands-on learning thing. It’s much more visceral to be able to see the things growing and understand one’s impact on that growth (i.e. feeding/water) that probably impacts the kids ability to remember. Plus, ladybugs seem a bit more hearty than their butterfly compatriots as far as tiny hands and fingers go. Which is a good thing.
