Each year, students in grades K, 1, and 2 do a month long unit on butterflies. Teachers help students discover the entire life cycle from larvae to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult.

Special habitats are placed in each classroom that serve the butterfly's needs at each stage of life. The butterflies selected for our studies are monarchs. They are abundant in the area and as caterpillars they eat milkweed which grows on the school property.

As students document their growth and transformation, the butterflies become the focus of student work in science, reading,writing, and art. Sometimes music and drama are also incorporated.

As autumn begins to takes hold, the butterflies mature and are released by the classes in our school's butterfly garden.

The butterfly unit and the six week + study of butterflies culminates with a field trip to the Butterfly Conservancy in South Deerfield, MA.

Students enjoy getting up close and personal with dozens of other types of butterflies and sharing their knowledge with the conservancy's staff.