Monarch Butterflies

Each summer I try to fill our days with something fun because I get so tired of hearing "Mom, I'm bored"- I know I am not the only one who feels this way! Last week while playing outside, my 2 youngest were fascinated by all the butterflies flying around. I thought of a fun lesson and activity that would teach them just a bit more about those "flying objects" they were seeing around our yard. My kids are 7, 3 and 2, and this activity was age appropriate and fun for each of them- after all, what kid doesn't love butterflies?

First I did some research online and found pictures and information that I thought they would enjoy. I put all the info in a Word Document and added some activities that I made so that the information I found could be more interactive. I printed a copy for each of them and then stapled the corners to make a workbook. Here is the document, you can download this document if you'd like to!

Monarch Butterflies

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. (I'll show you what goes where in the pictures below.)

(Here is my 2 year old and his chubby little hands having too much fun with his glue!)

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!