Great question. I like how it helps kids think about process and different stages of development. A caterpillar is the larval stage of many adult insects, including everyone in Lepodoptera (butterflies and moths). The big job of a catepiller: EAT.
Interestingly, sometimes a caterpillar is a terrible herbivore for a plant species, but that same caterpillar becomes an important pollinator after metamorphosis for that same plant.
Cheers,
Kyra

I wonder about having the children give ideas–or at least setting some of the afternoon on April 6 PD aside for teacher input….. Also, Marty Galganski, Kyra, and I had talked about having the teachers begin to design the school’s garden. Should we change our plan if the District’s plan is to design and build?

Some thoughts I had if the answer is yes, you need to design and build right away:
Plants with: texture, scent, shape differences.
Plants that survive neglect/abuse/drought…. (summer will get minimal to no care).
Plants that appear at different times.
Plants that flower and seed in different ways.
Plants of different height, width, circumference…

Rocks to climb on; nursery logs…moss… Natural objects and elements are SO important. I’ve seen so many “outdoor classrooms” that have concrete, and sit-up tables…. pbthheh. A great model is the Early Childhood experiential garden at Shaw Nature Reserve.

Ideally, I would hope the children might participate. I worked with a 1st grade teacher who took the school’s first grade students to the Garden to learn about plants that they might put in their school garden. They knew plants needed water, sun, and soil and learned about plants that might work. She(and I) were astonished when they came back to the classroom and talked about lamb’s ear because it didn’t need a lot of water and others…based on the plant’s attributes and needs. They also made a wall-sized map of the gardens they visited-each child took a feature and they negotiated placement of the rocks, and plants, and water elements–coming up with a recognizable rendition of the Chinese Garden. Finally, she made large copies of photos of the garden site and had students draw on them the features and plant areas they thought would work. The landscape architect then used their ideas in the development of the plan.

Hope this gives you some thoughts to consider. Best with it and congratulations on such an exciting project!

We are in the process of getting an outside classroom. I was hoping to get some ideas for plants from you. I will be bringing the design to BIM on Friday if we have a little time. Or is it better for me to take the design to Kemper and ask their advice. We are all novice gardeners.