The preschool students at Seaside School in Marion are no slouches when it comes to science.

For the past few weeks the kids have been studying insects, in particular the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.

And what better way to understand the metamorphosis of the bright orange and black butterfly than to watch it firsthand in the classroom?

A parent of one of the students recently brought in some milkweed on which a monarch had laid its eggs.

Teacher Debbie Thompson said the students housed the eggs in a net in one of the classrooms where they could watch them transform into butterflies.

Five-year-old Nathaniel Pasquarello was well-versed in the process.

“First, it starts with the egg, and then it becomes a caterpillar. After that it becomes a chrysalis and then an adult butterfly,” Pasquarello said. “It was really fun to watch.”

Thompson agreed.

“What we try to do with the students is engross them in high interest projects. To see this in our classroom is just amazing,” Thompson said.

“We do so much outdoor activity. Whatever they find outside sometimes lends itself into our study.”

With cold weather on the way, the school’s director Janet Barnes said the butterflies will soon begin their migration to Mexico for the winter.

To help them along, the students will release their butterflies into the wild once they emerge from the cocoon-like chrysalis.

“What is so great about this is that the kids get to watch all of the stages,” Barnes said.

“Butterflies don’t have a long life span, only about two weeks. For us to be able to see that life cycle is just wonderful.”