We raised mail-order butterflies this year. It was lovely......
but....of course nature isn't all about loveliness and we have always encouraged the boys to be comfortable with it's less picturesque side. When ds6 was 2 I watched from the window as he closely observed our neighbours cat devouring a baby rat. Instinct told me it was fine although my social conditioning was screaming at me to go and move him away. He just lay and observed and accepted. It didn't upset him and it didn't make him callous. Both boys are very gentle with small beings.
More recently we have found a swans egg that had fallen from the nest and also a dead young swallow. We have treated them with respect but without aversion; which I think models a truly deep appreciation of the life cycle.
Our most recent science project is breeding fruit flies. Here is the mouldy banana they've laid their eggs on...
Again, not the most beautiful in a conventional sense but, well, it is; and it is vital and beautiful in its own right.
Learning about life cycles is so important and I agree that even fruit flies are beautiful in this respect.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing on this weeks #homeedlinkup