Last week in my classroom, we studied butterflies. Now, I must be honest, it is rare for me to do any additional research on our weekly thematic units. Any knowledge I pass on to my class is either information I learned in previous years or comes from a book I choose to read. The latter was true this year. As much as I enjoy having a weekly theme, I am more focused on my children leaving my care knowing the fundamentals. So last week was not any different, I relied on my trust Scholastic Weekly Readers and any books I already had in my classroom or could find in the school’s library.
Between the Weekly Reader and one book I found, I learned some fascinating facts about butterflies:
- Did you know that in Christianity, butterflies are symbolic of the resurrection of Christ? Christ transformation from Son of God to the Son of Man and then his death, burial and resurrection are similar to the butterflies transformation from an egg to a caterpillar to a butterfly. They “die” during their hibernation in the chrysalis before resurrecting as a butterfly.
- Did you know that the chrysalis or the cocoon is actually the hardened skin of the caterpillar?!? I guess I just always assumed that it was leaves but it is their skin that forms their shell. This fact blew me away. I began to think of the number of analogies that reference the caterpillars transformation but never heard anyone apply this fact.
- Did you know that the caterpillar grows to be 100x larger after it hatches from the egg? Their skin sheds as they grow!
- Did you know that once the butterfly hatches from the cocoon, they must wait for their wings to dry before they fly away because they are soft and wrinkled?
So what does all of this mean to me?
- Shedding skin is necessary for growth. Whether it flakes or peels, it has got to go. It may hurt, but this growth is essential because it is preparation for the next step.
- That shed skin reveals a hardened, tough skin that protect during a time of rest and recovery. People may not understand that this downtime is necessary for the flight.
- Even though the wings have developed, there is still a wait . But once the wings are ready, freedom is guaranteed!
Take what you need from nature because it will reveal so much more in the spirit.
Give love. Get love.
The Ready Writer 