When most people think of Earth Day, they understandably think of our planet. But earth day is about more than just the planet we call home. What about everything else that calls our planet home?
I surveyed the UR Basic Mom group, and here’s what they said comes to mind when they think of this holiday:
- Trees
- Recycling
- Picking up trash
- Bill Nye (my favorite answer)
- Planting flowers
These are all great suggestions! But there’s something we usually don’t consider about Earth Day, and that’s the animals and insects that call our planet home, too. To be honest, I didn’t even think of this until earlier this month. What about everything they do for our planet? What about everything they do for us?
This all started in March when I got word that our state was closing schools. Like most places, it was supposed to be temporary, but it quickly changed to canceling the rest of the school year.
I remember the day clearly. It was a Sunday evening when the governor announced the closure. I had only hours to find childcare for our son because I knew my husband and I would still be required to work the next day. Luckily, our favorite babysitter read my mind and minutes later, I received a message from her letting me know she was available if we needed her.
The following day, my son’s teacher reached out to a few of us parents because she received a special delivery and didn’t want it to go to waste. She received live bugs in the mail – caterpillars and a praying mantis egg case. This was the week my son and his class were supposed to learn about the life cycle of caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies. Being the amazing teacher she is, she wanted the kids to still experience everything and learn from it. I went to her house and picked up two caterpillars and a praying mantis egg case and brought it home to my excited son and confused husband. Our son named them “Buddy” and “Callie” based off of butterfly and caterpillar.
Over the next few weeks we watched the caterpillars more than double in size. At one point, I thought one broke in half, but it turns out they shed exoskeletons. I also thought one died, but apparently came to life the next day. And I swear one of them turned the color of their fur from black to white, then black again, which was scary because I figured it was on its way out too because this was the same time that I thought the other one died, and I really wasn’t ready to have the “dead pet” talk with our soon to be four-year-old. Full disclosure: caterpillars poop a lot and you have to clean this up daily, or it gets everywhere. Q-tips work super well for this.
Once the caterpillars turned into chrysalises, we moved them to their bigger shelter and waited for them to emerge. One evening, about a week later, I noticed we had a butterfly! The following day, which happened to be our son’s fourth birthday, our second butterfly appeared.
A few days later, we released them in a big patch of wildflowers north of town where it’s a little cooler for them since summer is coming. Along the way to the flowers, we saw other butterflies in the area, which made my son happy because I told him Buddy and Callie would have other butterfly friends.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, our praying mantis egg case hatched. I now had over 100 praying mantis babies in this little cup and it was time to transfer them to the butterfly cage to give them more room. We would soon “distancly” release them to a friend’s garden where they would be super beneficial in helping maintain the health of the garden and keep garden pests away.
So, all this led me to Earth Day, and how the animals are a big part of it, too. The butterflies we just released will help pollinate other plants. Butterflies, along with bees and other small insects, help bring every bite of food to your table. I knew this to be true of bees, but never made the connection to butterflies or other insects. To learn more, you can visit Pollinator Partnership.
Since we like to be honest here, bugs aren’t really my thing. I don’t mind them out in nature, because that’s their space and I let them be, but when they are in my house it is a different story. I have grown so much in this area because I don’t want my son to pick up on this and live with a fear of bugs too. It’s still with me a little, but as you other mother’s know, we’d do anything for our littles. All these little insects make our world a better place, even if they can be a little scary sometimes.
My husband and I parent based on the Montessori philosophy, so we largely “follow the child” when it comes to learning and activities we do at home. And based on this experience, I know we have many more insect projects coming in the future! These insects were the perfect fit for learning about lifecycles and they can easily be worked into any type of homeschooling curriculum or just a fun thing to do at home. To get your own insects, the company our son’s teacher uses every year is Insectlore.
If you’d still like to explore insects, nature, or generally enjoy some outdoor time, here are some other ideas you and your family can do, all while social distancing:
- Take a hike or nature walk.
- Do an outdoor scavenger hunt or bingo game.
- Have a picnic.
- Plant a tree, garden, or flowers that will attract pollinators.
- Pick up litter.
- Learn about recycling and see if you can recycle something you would normally throw in the trash.
- Build or hang up a bird feeder.
- Take some paper and colored pencils outside with you and draw what you see.
- Learn about trees and see how many different types you can find around your neighborhood.
Whatever you decide to do for Earth Day, at least share something new with your family! Even if it’s just one thing, you will make a difference in your child’s life and our home. Don’t you want to leave the planet a better place for your children and grandchildren? I know I do. And don’t forget about the littlest creatures that we share our planet with.
Share your Earth Day pics with us by tagging @ur_basic_mom on Instagram!
You can follow along with Claire and all her motherhood adventures on Instagram @fromcoffeetocarrots.
