Problem-Solvers: Caterpillars…
Author: Tim Taylor l Suitable for: Early Years, Planning
The Theme
The Hungry Caterpillar - dealing ethically and humanely with ‘pests’
Printer friendly copy: doc
(From an original idea by Luke Abbott)
An example of the Garden Centre frame for older children: Pdf
Background
The Curriculum
Understanding: That all creatures need to be treated humanely even creatures that cause human beings problems. That we all have a responsibility to protect the environment.
Knowledge: The life-cycle of butterflies, the importance of leaves to… etc
Skills: Listening, problem-solving, communicating, evaluating, negotiating
Values: Appreciate that all life is important and that animals (even apparent ‘pests’) have an important role to play in the eco-system
Developing the Situation
Inquiry Questions
1. How can we protect livelihoods and human interests from destructive wildlife
2. How can this be done without damaging the natural environment
3. And in a humane way, without destroying living creatures
4. What is our responsibility to the planet, and other creatures including insects…
Situation
A small garden centre has been infested by a ‘plague’ of caterpillars. The caterpillars are attacking the plants and will destroy them all if they aren’t stopped. If this happens the garden centre will have to close and the people who work there will loose their jobs. The situation is further complicated because it appears that the caterpillars are coming from the place next door, which is a butterfly farm.
Designing the Expert Frame
Team of Experts
An expert team of problem solvers who have the equipment and expertise to deal with any problem, no matter how big or small.
Client(s)
1. The owner of a garden centre
2. The owner of a butterfly farm
Commission(s)
1. To remove the hungry caterpillars from the garden centre in a way that doesn’t arouse the interests or suspicions of the customers.
2. To do it in a way that neither harms the plants or the caterpillars.
2. To put the caterpillars back in the butterfly farm and help the owner to realise the caterpillars are a problem to the garden centre and that he/she has a responsibility to their neighbour.
Possible Steps in:
1. (Engaging): This beginning starts with the client. Ask the children to have a look at what’s going on here (there is an adult in role). You may need to mediate this a bit for the children, something like: “Mrs B. is going to be someone in a story. A person with a problem. Take a look and see what you notice.” The person in the story looks concerned; she turns something over and looks closely, her brow furrows. She picks something off of the thing she is looking at and carefully puts it in a box. She then repeats the process, again tutting, shaking her head and putting the things in a box. The children are asked just to say what they see, they may make guesses or speculate. That’s fine. “Should I ask the lady what she is doing? Excuse me, we notice you’re not very happy. What is the problem?” “I’m not happy. All of my plants are covered in them… I’m really upset. I don’t know what to do.” You can now mediate a conversation between the lady and the children, using the children’s questions to find out more. If the children are confident, they of course can ask the questions directly.
Through questioning the situation emerges. The lady is the owner of a small garden centre that has been overrun by caterpillars. The caterpillars are eating all the plants and she doesn’t know how to stop them. She won’t use pesticides because the garden centre is an organic producer and she is a firm believer in sustainable horticulture. She wants the caterpillars out of her garden centre but does not want them exterminated. The caterpillars have ‘migrated’ from a butterfly farm next door.
2. (Making/creating): Activity - drawing boxes for the caterpillars and ways of capturing them that involves not harming them but keeping them alive and comfortable.
3. (Evaluating & reflecting): During the drawing of the boxes and tools we evaluate them on their fitness for the purpose. Possibly writing up a list constructed together of the aspects and features they must contain (success criteria). After they are drawn they are then shown to the centre owner for her approval.
4. (Enactive): Working together, the team begin to move around the garden centre, looking for and collecting the caterpillars and putting them (drawings) into their ‘humane’ containers. To ‘check in’ on how well the job is going they could take a look at the owner as she walks around watering her plants etc (looking at her face for signs). For added tension you could have other adults-in-role as costumers, who unaware of the infestation. The team would have to work without attracting the customer’s curiosity.
After this point is becomes difficult to plan as so much depends on how the work develops. For possible next moves consult the Generic Tasks Grid. It seems likely the caterpillars will have to be contained, cared for, recorded, and transported to another location. It also seems likely the team will have to mediate between the owner of the garden centre and the butterfly farm. Possibly giving advice. Interesting questions are: Who owns the caterpillars? Who is responsible for them and the damage they do? Is it ‘right’ to keep animals locked up, even if they are ‘only’ insects?