Putting on the Finishing Touches

Building the

Butterfly House

Once they returned to school with the materials, it was finally time to build the Butterfly House! Building!

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The first job was to nail the pieces of wood to the frame. The young builders needed to use goggles, hammers, and nails to secure the wood in place.

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It was hard work! Thankfully, the NIS facilities team stepped in to help so the Butterfly House could be built safely.

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Even a Pandemic

Couldn’t Stop Them!

Even during online learning, the children continued to be invested in their project. Their interest encouraged NIS staff to follow through on their behalf to add bricks to the sides of the Butterfly House.

The children drew designs at home and voted on different paint colors to decorate the house when they returned to campus. They never lost their passion for their project!

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Putting on the Finishing Touches!

With only one week on campus at the end of the year, the preschool children made the most of their time by dedicating three full days to decorating the Butterfly House.

The first day they drew with a pencil and traced with a permanent marker. Then they added paint over the course of two days. Each child contributed to painting the house.

Finishing

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Touches

Thanks to their keen science skills and determination, it is now a beautiful legacy and a tribute to their hard work and creativity!

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Thank you...

We would like to thank all of the people involved in the Butterfly House Project.

To the children, who shared their ideas and questions, who worked together to create, and who continued to be invested in the project even as the way in which we engaged in learning had to change.

To the families, who made connections to the project at home and shared in the project through school trips.

To the facilities team, who supported the children to construct the Butterfly House and made sure the project could continue during online learning.

To the ELC Preschool Teachers: Chelsea Wilson Sword, Chiaki Nomura, and Marimo Yagi

To the ELC Kindergarten Teachers: Ginger Puffer, Zana Tolkaciova, Yoko Kamikokuryo, Yoko Watanabe, and Andrew Hardman

To the ELC Coordinator and Atelierista: Jennie Mossman

And finally, to Satoko Okuno, Erin Sakakibara, and Erik Olson-Kikuchi for helping to create this book!

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