A few summers ago the kids and I were playing outside and my 2 youngest (ages 3 and 2 at the time) were fascinated by all the butterflies flying around. I put together a fun Monarch Butterflies craft and activity that would teach them just a bit more about those “flying objects” they were seeing around our yard. Even my 7 year old had fun with this project, proof that this activity was age appropriate and fun for each of them. After all, what kid doesn’t love butterflies?
(If that link isn’t working, click HERE for the PDF)
After we finished learning about the butterflies, it was time to make a craft. My 1st grader brought home a fun project this year that I thought would go perfectly with this lesson, so special thanks to Miss Lee for the fun idea! I just changed it up a little. Here is what we made:
Materials Needed:
. Pasta- Rotini, Shells & Bowtie
. White Beans
. Paper Plates
. Twigs and leaves
. Pen
. Glue
. Labels- Eggs, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly
Step One:
Using your pen, divide your plate into 4 equal parts.
Step Two:
Begin gluing your items down on each part of the plate.
First Space- “Eggs”
1 leaf with 3 white beans
Second Space- “Caterpillar”
1 leaf with 1 rotini pasta
Third Space- “Chrysalis”
1 twig with 1 shell pasta
Fourth Space- “Butterfly”
1 bowtie pasta. Draw antennae with your pen
And that’s it! Fun and educational!
This post originally published on Somewhat Simple in June 2010
About Stephanie
thank you, this is great! every year we gather a few caterpillars, make them a home and watch them go through the phases. Once they become butterflies we let them go. This will be a great activity to add in there. Im always looking for great kids activities, thanks!
What a great idea! My daughter will love this- thanks!
my daughter did this for school. what a fun way to learn about butterflies
so cute! I'm totally gonna use this next year for Kate's preschool!
Very cute!! Thanks for sharing the doc- great job!
This is SO cute!! Definitely going in my I {heart} Friday post this week!!
Great idea for something to do with the kiddies.
I love this idea!
Just wanted to let you know I gave you two awards on my blog
Casey
Cute idea! My kids would enjoy learning about butterflies. Thanks!
What a brilliant craft idea…clever and fun.
We raise a butterfly or two every year…As long as you give them fresh food daily it is super simple and it is so fun to watch them hatch from their chrysalis, pump their wings full of blood, and fly away.
This is fantastic!! I am new to your site and was just browsing around and came across this post. This is will be terrific when we get to flying animals in Science. Thank you so much for sharing!
I am having a hard time downloading the information you put together for the Monarch Butterflies. Is there any other way you can send me the information? Thanks so much. My kids are going to love this!
Caterina
This is adorable! I found the picture of the life cycle on pinterest and it linked here, but I couldn’t see the picture here..? I will still follow the directions and do it with my kids!:)
Thanks Becky, for some reason all the picture links are broken so I will check to see if I have the files or I will plan to remake this with my kids soon!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi! Thanks for this great post… I’ve shared it on Facebook. Have you seen my children’s picture book “AMAZING MATILDA: A Monarch’s Tale”? It follows the monarch life cycle its tale inspires kids to reach for their dreams. It’s on sale right now http://www.Amazon.com/author/betteastevens I’m following you by email! GREAT SITE… Bette