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Draw butterfly life cycle worksheet
This time of year, we see caterpillars and butterflies around our property. Loralye & Landen have been fascinated with the caterpillars, so I gathered resources to answer their questions and help them learn more.
About my lesson plans:
I create my unit studies around my kids’ interests and incorporate most of these elements into each one: videos (usually from YouTube), books, websites, printable sheets (a variety of coloring pages, facts, activities, etc.), snacks, craft/hands-on activities, and a field trip. Depending on how in-depth we get, I space out the activities between 3-4 days and 1-2 weeks.
For this butterfly lesson, I gathered some activities I thought they’d enjoy and divided them into three days. I’ll share everything we did each day, plus the links where I got inspiration.
Learning goal:
– Identify and understand the sequence of a butterfly’s life cycle.
– Appreciate the beauty and wonder of butterflies and their life stages.
Butterfly Facts: Did you know March 14 is National Learn About Butterflies Day?
Life cycle of a butterfly lesson plan
Day one – Monday
We began with this cute song about a butterfly’s life cycle. Click below to listen. They loved it!
Butterfly Facts: Did you know there are over 17,500 species of butterflies in the world?
Next, we looked at online photos of each stage of a butterfly’s life. Because they had already seen caterpillars and butterflies, they were most interested in the eggs and the chrysalis. I did a simple online search for ‘stages of a butterfly’s life” and filtered it by images.
The last activity on day one was a worksheet showing the four life stages of a butterfly. It was a freebie from this TPT seller. Search for butterfly life cycle on her page. They enjoyed this, and we discussed each stage as they colored.
Butterfly Facts: The vibrant colors of butterfly wings are not just for show—they serve essential functions! These colors can help butterflies camouflage in their environments, attract mates, or even deter predators. Interestingly, the colors are created by tiny scales on their wings that reflect light, rather than by pigments, as in most other creatures.
Day two – Tuesday
We started day two with this video on the butterfly life cycle. 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. This was a freebie from this TPT seller. Search for butterfly life cycle on her page. They wanted to keep it black and white and chose not to color it in.
Butterfly Facts: Butterflies have an extraordinary way of ‘tasting’ their food. They taste with their feet! By landing on a plant, they can sense whether it’s a good food source for their caterpillars by detecting chemicals in the leaves.
Then, they put on butterfly wings, and I wrapped them in paper towels. They pretended to be bursting free of their cocoon and flew around the living room! They had so much fun that 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, 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. I found it 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 Loralye is interested in drawing and has lately preferred it to coloring pre-printed sheets. I looked at worksheets, but most 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 for $1 in my shop. Get it here – Draw butterfly life cycle worksheet.
Next, we did a classic craft that was easy enough to be fun for a very active little boy. We made coffee filter butterflies!
How do you make coffee filter butterflies?
Gather a coffee filter, markers, a spray bottle with water, and a pipe cleaner.
I flattened the coffee filters before we started to make it easier for them to color them. I placed plastic under the filter, and then we used our Shopkin washable markers to color it.
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 also wanted to make this blue morpho butterfly craft (it looks so cool!), but we didn’t have any paper plates at home. 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 had 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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