My daughter brought home a caterpillar from kindergarten — and ended up crying over it

She brought home a caterpillar from kindergarten, and in just two days, turned it into something real.

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Phoebe brought home a caterpillar from kindergarten this week.

Not a real one — a plush toy.

🐛 Phoebe and Her Caterpillar

“My name is Caterpillar. I used to live in London. One day I was having dinner and I saw a purse and decided to hide and start an adventure. The adventure took me to Finland, where I have met numerous amazing little boys and girls. They have taken turns to take care of me during weekends and have written with their parents in my diary all the wonderful things they have done with me. Now it is your turn to take care of me and write in my diary!

📖 Caterpillar’s Notebook

But the caterpillar has its own diary, which travels with it wherever it goes.

Their class is called Caterpillar (“Caterpillar class”).

Yes, that’s right — next year it will become Butterfly (“Butterfly”).

So this toy naturally became the class mascot.

The rules are simple:

• Each weekend, one child takes it home
• Keeps it for two days, and brings it back on Monday
• And writes down what happened during those two days

The caterpillar’s diary records the happy moments it spends in each child’s home.

🧸 Phoebe’s Weekend

This weekend, it was Phoebe’s turn.

She had been waiting for this day for quite a while.

She had been asking before, wondering when it would finally be her turn.

After school on Friday, she was clearly very excited.

When she held the caterpillar, it didn’t feel like she was holding a toy,

but more like she had brought “someone” home.

🍽️ She starts taking care of it

After getting home, the first thing she did wasn’t playing.

She prepared food for the caterpillar.

She also called her little sister Molly to come and feed it together.

The whole process was very serious.

Not the kind of casual play for a few minutes,

but a careful, almost gentle kind of seriousness.

You suddenly realize —

she’s not pretending.

She genuinely believes this is something that needs to be taken care of.

🧍‍♀️ Sharing the caterpillar with her sister

After that, she gave the caterpillar a “bath”.

Then she made a small bed for it.

At night, she placed it next to her while sleeping.

That night, she slept very peacefully.

🌃 Sleeping with the caterpillar

Saturday was quite ordinary.

Played games in the morning,

had ice cream and fruit in the afternoon,

and went out to ride a bike in the evening.

Nothing particularly special.

🍦 The caterpillar wants ice cream too

But the caterpillar was always there.

Sitting beside her, “taking part” in everything.

🚲 Going out for a bike ride too

On Sunday, she took it to see a princess and also went to the supermarket.

In the evening, she read it a book —

The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In Chinese.

A caterpillar,

listening to the story of another caterpillar —

kind of interesting.

📚 Teaching the Finnish caterpillar Chinese

At night, when it was time to sleep, something felt different.

She suddenly became quiet.

I asked her what was wrong.

She said she didn’t want Caterpillar to go back.

Her voice was very soft.

But not long after, her eyes turned red.

And then she started crying.

It was a bit unexpected.

Because to us, it was just a small weekend activity.

But to her, it seemed like something more.

Later, her mom told her

that we could buy another caterpillar like this to keep at home.

Only then did she slowly calm down.

That night, she still fell asleep holding the caterpillar.

👋 Time to say goodbye to the caterpillar

🧠 A Small Reflection

This whole thing is actually very small.

A toy, a notebook, passed from one child to another.

But you can see something very real:

She carefully feeds it,

makes a bed for it,

and feels sad when it’s time to part.

🎨 Phoebe’s drawing of the caterpillar

Sometimes we think kids are just playing.

But sometimes you realize —

they are taking a “relationship” very seriously.

Even if it’s just a caterpillar.

🎁 Bonus — Caterpillar’s Weekend Diary

Caterpillar’s Diary at Phoebe’s Home

🌟 Caterpillar’s Sweet Weekend with Phoebe

This weekend I stayed with Phoebe.

On Friday after school, we went to Pasila together. Phoebe took me to a children’s playground and we played a lot. I liked it a lot.

At home, Phoebe made dinner for me. Her little sister Molly helped too. They fed me and took good care of me. It felt really nice.

In the evening, Phoebe gave me a bath and made a small bed for me. I slept next to her and had a good sleep.

On Saturday morning, we played games together. In the afternoon, Phoebe gave me ice cream and some fruit. I think I ate quite well that day 😊

In the evening, we went outside and rode bicycles. It was fun to be outside.

On Sunday, Phoebe took me to see a princess. I was a little surprised! We also went to the supermarket. In the evening, Phoebe read me a book — The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Chinese. I listened carefully.

I had a calm and happy weekend with Phoebe and her family. I felt very happy.

Thank you for taking care of me 💛