This week has been absolutely beautiful here in Florida! The weather has been warm and sunny which is perfect for toddlers to go out and explore the natural world around them. On Saturday my Little One had her second birthday party and one of the highlights was an unplanned adventure discovering the wildlife living in our own backyard. We also have a lot of new life developing, consisting of both flora and fauna. It has been a fun filled week with lots of outdoor observations and activities.
At my daughter’s birthday party we had some activities that were in the backyard. The children quickly began wondering around and discovering some new and exciting things. One of the main things that they noticed was the multitude of monarch caterpillars that are currently devouring our milkweed plants. Then my husband began to show off the chrysalises that were formed above the children’s heads thus sparking a conversation about the amazing transformation that was occurring. I personally can’t wait to see the butterfly’s that emerge! I have been reading my daughter The Very Hungry Caterpillar to help reinforce the process of the metamorphosis.
At my daughter’s birthday party we had some activities that were in the backyard. The children quickly began wondering around and discovering some new and exciting things. One of the main things that they noticed was the multitude of monarch caterpillars that are currently devouring our milkweed plants. Then my husband began to show off the chrysalises that were formed above the children’s heads thus sparking a conversation about the amazing transformation that was occurring. I personally can’t wait to see the butterfly’s that emerge! I have been reading my daughter The Very Hungry Caterpillar to help reinforce the process of the metamorphosis.
On Sunday my husband discovered a bird’s nest with three tiny speckled eggs. The next day I went to check on the eggs and found three newborn baby birds! Their mother has been with them most of the time but occasionally she goes off to forage and we are able to peek on the babies. Throughout the week I have noticed that they are getting stronger and are starting to move around their nest much more. We also found out that they are cardinals and through observing them we realized that both the mother, who is brown, and the father will feed their young!
I also noticed that both the mango tree and the avocado tree on our property have begun to fruit. This has giving me the opportunity to explain to my Little One that fruit comes from trees. And that fruit starts as small “baby fruit” and grows into “big fruit” before you can eat it! It will be so much fun to engage her sense of taste and touch when the fruits have ripened. I love being able to share all of these amazing experiences with my little girl and I plan to continue to look for new and exciting things for her to learn.