B is for Butterfly

• Read “Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors” by Petr Horacek … we love this book. The illustrations are bright and fun. Our favorite part is the pop-out butterfly on the last page. Available here.

• Read “Butterfly Park” by Elly MacKay …
1. This author/illustrator is one of my new favorites. Her illustrations are unique and beautiful.
2. In this story, a girl moves to a new house right next to a park called “Butterfly Park”.  There are no butterflies until the girl, a few neighbors and a few flowers welcome the butterflies. Book available here.

• Do ‘B’ journal page
  1. Write ‘Bb’ on the next open journal page.
  2. Write (or have your preschooler write) ‘Butterfly’. We find the word on one of our books and my 4-year-old copies the letters.
  3. Practice writing ‘B’ and ‘b’.
  4. Add butterfly stickers to the page. Several available here.
  5. Or draw the left half of a simple butterfly. Have your preschooler practice writing ‘Bs’ by making the wings for the right half. I tell my preschooler “Down. Bump. Bump.”

• Butterfly Colors Song & Game … we have to do this one every year. My kids all love this song and game. We played this over and over.

  

1. PREP:
   • Print this butterfly page on red, orange, yellow, green, purple and pink paper.
   • Laminate and cut out each butterfly. I use this laminator and absolutely love it.
2. Watch the “Butterfly Colors” video (above) and enjoy the song.
3. Watch the song again. This time, have the kids choose the color that matches the butterfly in the song and stick it to the wall (I have pieces of tape rolled up ready to go.)
4. We played it a 2nd time and moved the butterflies from the wall to the back door. Then a 3rd time from the back door to the TV stand. They loved it because they had to run back and forth grabbing the right colors. Got a little energy out

• Butterfly Coloring Page
  1. Print your favorite butterfly coloring page. We used this one.
  2. Color!
  3. Or get fancy and use glitter or sparkly pens.

 

• Read “Are You a Butterfly?” by Judy Allen & Tudor Humphries … a more detailed explanation of the butterfly cycle but still very simple to read. Available here.
• Read “Butterfly Garden” by Margaret McNamara … read along with a class learning the life cycle of a butterfly. Simple and cute. Available here.

• Play Butterfly Life Cycle Game … this is a colorful and simple animation about the life cycle of a butterfly.
  1. Click here to go to play “Butterfly Life Cycle” hosted by TurtleDiary.com
  2. The life cycle animation is about 1½ minutes long. There are two simple games following.
  3. TIP: The first game is a little challenging for a preschooler, but is still a great teaching tool!

     Ask, which word has only 3 letters? Which word starts with a ‘C’ and ends with an ‘R’? Which word starts with the /C/ sound? What do you think this last word says? (The last word is right next to the picture of the butterfly.)

  4. I love the last game. The pictures are simple and it’s a great sequencing activity for the kids.

• Life Cycle Game
  1. Print these simple, adorable and FREE butterfly life cycle cards from TheMailbox.com. I did have to register with my email to be able to print.
  2. Color & cut apart.
  3. TIP: I colored one set ahead of time to play with. Then gave my preschooler her own set to color after we played the game.
  4. Sequence activity: Have the kids put the life cycle cards in order.
  5. Game: Have the kids cover their eyes. Remove one of the cards and see if the kids can guess which card is missing! Repeat.

 

• Butterfly Hat
  1. Cut a piece of colorful cardstock into half (lengthwise) and tape together.
  2. Glue the newly colored life cycle cards in order to the paper headband.
  3. Curl two pipe cleaners and tape to the headband for butterfly antennae.
  4. Fit the headband to your preschooler’s head and tape.
  5. TIP: Add a pair of dollar store wings and have fun flying around like a butterfly.

• Butterfly Snacks
  1. Grab your favorite snack (skittles, M&Ms, even a snack-sized baggie filled with grapes or crackers
  2. Clip a clothespin in the middle of the package to make the body and butterfly wings.
  3. Bend a pipe cleaner in half and clip inside the clothespin (I added a little hot glue)
  4. Add googly eyes. I love hot glue because it’s strong and quick.
  5. Have your preschooler color the clothespin with crayons or markers.