# Eri Silkworm Life Cycle Sensory Bin
> After reading the picture book Bijoy and the Big River, build a simple sensory bin showing the eri silkworm's life cycle. Use marshmallow caterpillars on sticks, cotton-wool cocoons wrapped around shells and paper moths. Kids touch each stage and act out the cycle with their own story lines.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/life-cycle-of-a-silkworm-and-a-book-review/
- Ages: 3–7 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 25 min, activity 20 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: science, life-cycles, sequencing, storytelling, sensory-exploration, literacy, culture
- Cautions: corn, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Bijoy and the Big River by Meera Sriram and Praba Ram (Tulika Books)
- White marshmallows
- Cotton wool / cotton balls
- Conical-shaped shells
- Small sticks (household)
- Large green leaves (household)
- Brown/orange paper or cardstock
- 1 piece Scissors (household)
- 1 piece Shallow bin or tub (household)
- Pearl-shaped sprinkles (optional)

## Substitutions
- Instead of cotton wool: Pearl-shaped sprinkles (for the eggs only) (The author says pearl-shaped sprinkles can be made to look like eggs. They used melted marshmallow bits and cotton balls instead.)

## Safety
- Marshmallows, egg bits, cotton wool and small shells are choking hazards. Supervise closely and don't let kids put bin items in their mouths.
- Treat the marshmallow caterpillars as play pieces, not a snack, once they have been in the bin with sticks, leaves and cotton.
- Adult handles any melting of marshmallow for the eggs, because melted marshmallow can be hot.
- Check sticks for sharp points and shells for sharp edges before play.
- Use clean leaves that you know are non-toxic.
- Adult or older child does the cutting of the paper moths.

## Before you start
- Read Bijoy and the Big River together, paraphrasing for younger children.
- Cut moth shapes from brown or orange paper.
- Optionally make the cotton-wool cocoons around the shells ahead of time if kids are very young.

## Steps
1. Line the bin with green paper, then add leaves and a few sticks.
2. Make tiny eggs from bits of marshmallow and cotton, and scatter them on the leaves.
3. String white marshmallow bits onto a small stick to make a caterpillar larva.
4. Wrap cotton wool around a conical shell to make a cocoon, leaving the small end open.
5. Add the paper moths, caterpillars, eggs and cocoons to the bin.
6. Talk through the life cycle: egg, caterpillar, cocoon, moth. Talk about how eri silkworms differ from other moths and butterflies.
7. Touch and feel each stage, then pull a moth out of a cocoon.
8. Let kids rebuild the cycle on their own and act it out with their own story lines.

## Tips
- Quick! A silk worm is not a worm, but a moth. Start with that question to get kids curious.
- Making the caterpillar larva was the best part.
- We picked a shell for the cocoon because the moth escapes through a small opening at the end of the cocoon before the cocoons are harvested.
- The real larva stage goes through 5 phases, but we kept it simple for our preschooler.
- My 4 year old created the cycle all over again with her own story lines. It was great to see her enact the life cycle all by herself and make it sound like a play!
- School age kids can use the book to learn how silk is made from eri silkworm cocoons. The pictures of spinning and reeling help.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

Quick! A silk worm is not a worm, but a ----? Yes, a moth. Why the sudden interest in silk worms? Apart from our recent worm land creation and our long standing affinity with anything wildlife we came in possession of an amazing children's book **[Bijoy and the Big River](http://www.tulikabooks.com/book_details.php?mid=2&c_id=4&s_id=17&b_id=327)** by the very talented **Meera Sriram and Prabha Ram.** Meera took the time to send us this wonderful book for a review along with a beautiful handwritten note. The book's central theme is " Where do I live" as it takes the children along a beautiful journey of Assam and its bane and boon - Brahmaputra river. The river provides livelihood for all the people and at the same wreaks havoc by flooding the place as well. While the book doesn't go into the details of flood and its damage (which is great ) I know the feeling all too well having lived in the city for a while. [](http://www.tulikabooks.com/book_details.php?mid=2&c_id=4&s_id=17&b_id=327) The book shows the readers a very interesting yet largely unknown part of India- the Northeast, specifically the state of Assam. Assam is known for its silk, eri silk which is also known as "peace silk". Why is it called peace silk? You got to read the book to find this amazing fact. The book's protagonist is a little boy, the son of an eri silkworm cultivator and the book talks about a day in his adventurous life. This picture book does everything right to capture a child's attentions. Starting with captivating images to interesting tidbits about a new culture and land, Bijoy's book is an exciting read. Although the authors recommend the book for school age children, parents can easily paraphrase for younger children. My child was completely enthralled by the part on silkworms. The book gave us just enough information that a child would find exciting enough. My 4 ear old was interested in silkworms after reading the book that we went about gathering more information. Another great part younger kids will find interesting is when *xihu,* the river dolphin makes an appearance. The book also explains in detail the highlights of the city and the life of a silk merchant. It is specifically would be a great resource for school age children to learn about the process of making silk from eri silk worm cocoons. The images showing the spinning and reeling of silk are a great way to let the kids understand what they are reading. If you are looking to **introduce your child or your classroom to a new culture,** this would be a wonderful book to pick up. It is also an appropriate book for a "My City" geography unit. **Book Extensions** Engaging in an activity based on a book is a wonderful way to process what we read. Every kid will be drawn to some aspect of the book and we here thought that the silk worms were wonderful to study. While the book's central theme is " Where do I live" we focused on the science bit. The book gives a good deal of information about the life cycle of an eri silk worm ( different from the mulberry eating silkworms) and the process of extracting silk in a very simple manner. I especially liked the facts on every page. What better way to show a life cycle than a simple sensory bin? The actual larva stage of the moth goes through 5 phases but we are keeping it simple for our preschooler.

- Shells
- Cotton Wool
- Marshmallows
- Sticks and leaves

Pearl shaped sprinkles can be made to look like eggs but we used bit of melted marshmallow and cotton balls to create small eggs. Making the caterpillar larva was the best part. We used a small stick and strung white marshmallow bits to form caterpillars.

edible caterpillars



Making the cocoon was just as easy and simple. We used a conical shaped shell and wrapped cotton wool around it. We picked a shell because moth escapes through a small opening at the end of the cocoon before the cocoons are harvested.

shell-cotton wool cocoons



The moths were paper cut outs. With these 4 items we created a sensory bin and added a few leaves and sticks for additional exploration.



We talked about the entire life cycle of an eri silk worm and how they are different from other moths and even butterflies.



My 4 year old touched and felt each item ( stage of the process) and created the cycle all over again while creating her own story lines. It was great to see her enact the life cycle all by herself and make it sound like a play! What a great way to absorb a process of life!



If you are looking to purchase the book - **[Tulika Books](http://www.tulikabooks.com/book_details.php?mid=2&c_id=4&s_id=17&b_id=327)**

For the author's bio - **Meera Sriram.**

More **children's books** on Pinterest.

Thanks for reading

Thanks for stopping by our little space here. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at [**couple of**](https://www.funlittles.com/paint-with-spaghetti-brooms/) our [**popular posts.**](https://www.funlittles.com/animal-resist-painting/)

---

---