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This time of year, we see caterpillars and butterflies all around our property. L & L have been fascinated with the caterpillars so I pulled together some resources to help answer their questions and help them learn more.
I gathered some activities I thought they’d enjoy and divided them up into three days. I’ll share everything we did on each day, plus the links where I got inspiration.
L and L are four (just turned four this week) and five years old so this butterfly lesson plan is geared for those ages.
Did you know March 14 is National Learn About Butterflies Day? I had no idea until afterward but I’m going to remember for next year!
Learning goal:
– identify and understand the sequence of a butterfly life cycle.
– appreciate the beauty and wonder of butterflies and their life stages.
Life cycle of a butterfly lesson plan
Day one – Monday
We began with this cute song about the life cycle of a butterfly. Click below to listen. They loved it!
Next, we looked at photos of each stage of a butterfly’s life. They had seen caterpillars and butterflies so they were most interested in the eggs and the chrysalis.
Last, we colored an activity sheet showing the four life stages of a butterfly. It was a freebie from this TPT seller. Search butterfly life cycle in the search on her page. They enjoyed this and we spoke about each stage while they colored.
Day two – Tuesday
We started day two with this butterfly life cycle video. Click below to listen. This video is not too long and kept their interest the whole time.
Next, we did a cutting and gluing activity. They’ve both been using their scissors and glue sticks a lot so this activity was a lot of fun for them to do. This was a freebie from this TPT seller. Search butterfly life cycle in the search on her page. They wanted to keep it black and white and chose not to color it in.
Then they put on butterfly wings and I wrapped them up in paper towels. They pretended to be bursting free of their cocoon and flew around the living room! They had so much fun, we reused the paper towels and did it again! I can’t take credit for this cute idea though. I found it here.
For the last activity of day two, we made butterfly mobiles. We colored these adorable butterflies, then cut them out, and glued them onto cardstock. They chose a ribbon, we punched a hole in it and hung it from their ceiling. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I got this butterfly. It was something I found in one of my homeschool folders at home but you can use any butterfly to do this simple craft with your little ones.
Day three – Wednesday
We started with a video story of The Butterfly by Anna Milbourne and Cathy Shimmen. Click below to hear it. It’s a beautiful story and they loved it!
Five-year old L is interesting in drawing and prefers it to coloring pre-printed sheets lately. I looked at worksheets but most of them were for older children and included a lot of extra facts on the sheet, taking away from the drawing area. I wanted one that had enough room for a 3-5-year-old to draw and was labeled with each life cycle stage.
After looking and not finding what I wanted, I created my own!
I brought up photos of each stage on my laptop so they had a reference while drawing.
UPDATE: I’ve made this worksheet available to download! The set comes in black + white (to save ink) and color. Click here >>> Draw butterfly life cycle worksheet. Blog readers can get it free with the code blogfree.
Next, we did a classic craft that was easy enough to be fun for a very active little boy. We made coffee filters butterflies!
How do you make coffee filter butterflies?
Gather a coffee filter, markers, spray bottle of water, and pipe cleaner.
I flattened the coffee filters before we started to make it easier for them to color it. I used a plastic placement under the filter and then we used our Shopkin washable markers and added color to the filter.
Next, we sprayed it with the water bottle so the colors would bleed into each other. We let it dry for about an hour.
After it dried we pinched the middle and used the pipe cleaner to make its body and antennas.
Continuing our butterfly lesson plan activities!
- We were going to make this coffee filter butterfly instead of the basic one but we didn’t have any clothespins. I’m going to buy some when I go shopping next and I’ll add a photo to this post. This one would make a great party favor!
- We wanted to make this blue morpho butterfly craft also (it looks so cool!) but we didn’t have any paper plates in the house. I probably could have improvised but I’ll buy some when I get the clothespins. I’ll share our finished product in this post.
- I’m also going to order a caterpillar kit from Insect Lore! If I would have planned this better, I would have already had it but such is life, I’ll probably do a separate post on just that but I’ll add some photos here as well. If you have any ideas or links to add to this butterfly lesson, please share them in a comment below. I’d love to take a look.
- We created a butterfly garden when my kids were younger and we plan on doing it again. If you’re looking to add a little natural wonder to your garden this summer try these simple tips.
- Another cute craft is this footprint butterfly. I have to restock my paint and then we’ll do this!
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