Caterpillar

Last week Anna found a caterpillar on the fence at school. When I picked her up, she came running over to show it to me, keeping it safe in a bucket lined with leaves pulled from the nearby tree. Her teacher said she could keep it and could bring the bucket back later in the week after we made a bug box of our own for said caterpillar. How do you tell your sweet girl that even though your teacher said you can keep it, you can't keep it after all? So, we kept it, Anna clutching the bucket and talking to the caterpillar (or callerpillar as she calls it) all the way home. I reasoned to myself that it would be a good opportunity to teach about butterflies. We transferred it to another bucket at home, cut out some screen-wire for the top and rubber-banded it on. Since the tree on the school playground was a pecan tree, I figured the caterpillar would eat pecan leaves, so we went to the grandparents' neighbors' house to get fresh sprigs for it. Anna named the caterpillar Cinderella. We made plans to purchase a "real" bug box at Petsmart over the weekend. We read books about butterflies and metamorphosis. We found that caterpillars generally had about 2 weeks from egg to pupa stage and emerged from the chrysalis as a butterfly after about a week. We made plans to release the butterfly once it emerged. All seemed well. Then....

Anna began to worry and express great sadness over losing the caterpillar eventually--saying she did not want it to change and that she wants to keep it forever. To complicate matters, internet research revealed that the caterpillar will actually turn into a moth, not a butterfly, and that it is a "web worm" (click here for photo), which is a PEST that gardeners and landscapers want to eliminate due to the damage it causes trees (i.e. release needed far from home!). Additionally, we discovered that not only do caterpillars eat a lot, they poop a lot, and require daily maintenance of the environment if kept in an enclosed space, like for instance, a bug box!

Well, the FINAL piece of information was discovered tonight, namely that instead of the week-long cocoon stage, this little critter takes all season to emerge from the cocoon as a full grown pesky moth. We will be waiting until late summer for the end of this process.

24 Years of Friendship

Anna and I went to a reception in celebration of Linda A's 80th birthday. Mrs. A. is an icon in the field of public education in this state, and was my supervising teacher when I was a young student teacher in the spring of 1985. She has "looked after" me ever since. I am grateful for her mentorship and her friendship.

Cowboy Theme Birthday Party

Anna had a great time at a friend's birthday party riding the horses.

Violin Recital

Anna started Suzuki violin lessons a few months ago and participated in the spring recital.

Holding the Baby

We recently visited with Leah, one of my former elementary school students who is now in her early 30's and living in the northeast. She came "back home" to show off her new baby to family and friends. Anna was SO excited that she got to hold the baby! Thanks, Leah, for sharing the photo!

A Garden

Grandpa and Anna planted some corn a few weeks ago. It is starting to sprout. We are pretty excited about it!

Rehearsal for the Easter Service

Between Sunday School and the Church Service, the musicians and the children's choir rehearsed their music. Anna loved hearing the cello and sat still for a long time next to the cello player just listening and watching.

The words to the children's song (chorus) are:

He did it, He did it, He did what He said.
He said He would die and then rise from the dead.
He did it, He did it, He did it because
Jesus is who He said He was.

Easter Pictures

Palm Sunday

Anna's Friend

Anna has claimed for over a year that a little boy at the preschool named Preston is her boyfriend and that she will marry him when she gets older. She says she likes him because he makes her laugh. Preston's mom says that Preston has also talked about his "girlfriend" Anna since he first met her over a year ago.

Anna recently lent Preston her balance bike (since she can ride a regular two-wheeler now). We met him at the park to ride bikes less than a month later. Preston jumped on Anna's regular two-wheel bike, much to his mother's disbelief, and took off without a hitch. Once his mom got over the shock of him riding a "real" bike, we had a good laugh about Preston's first bike ride being on a pink bike with a flower basket and a borrowed purple helmet.

Grandpa also found a kite stuck in the tree and got it down for Anna and Preston to play with. The kids had a great time. When it was time to go, Preston grabbed Anna in a big bear hug and kissed her on the cheek.