Elementary, Primary Autism, C is for Caterpillar, Las Vegas, NV (Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar) and Atlas Moth October 2025

This student was in a Primary Autism class where I was a Substitute Teacher in 2025, Las Vegas, NV. He was really into rainbows and organizing markers in a rainbow pattern. He had colored a Swallowtail Butterfly earlier in the day and really loved it. The teacher asked me to put it on on the classroom board where all the kids' favorite works were tacked up on the board for everyone to see.

Later in the day we had another opportunity for a 15-min Art Brain Break so I showed him I had just finished making the Swallowtail Caterpillar for kids who like learning about what butterflies look like before they become butterflies. He was very excited to hear of the connection and said they had been reading the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar book so mine looked different than the big green one in their book.

Of course, I flashed back to reading the Hungry Caterpillar book when I was his age...it was a surprise to see they actually read the same books I did growing up. It's really cool to see because I love those books i grew up reading.

I told him caterpillars eat a lot, curl up into a chrysalis, hatch out of it and stretch out their wings in their new shape and that the caterpillars already have their butterfly colors in them when they're little, we just don't always get to see them until they hatch out of the chrysalis.

So he said this caterpillar needed to have all the colors so it would have everything it needed when it decided what color to be while it was sleeping.

So freakin' cute!!

Las Vegas, NV 2025