Butterflies!

 

Movement caught my eye. 

 A flash of color burst open and then floated away. 

Butterflies had arrived!

 

Such incredible colors.  Such amazingly graceful movement.  Such a wonder to behold.

 

Photo property of Hidden Splendor Publishing ©

 

 

As butterflies float on summer breezes

it is a great time to incorporate butterfly activities into your play time! 

 

Today's post goes beyond the usual ideas of

observe, journal, photograph and research kind of activities. 

However, don't forget about  those valuable learning activities!

 

Take what you learn outside and apply that knowledge to an activity/craft project inside.

 

When teaching new concepts it is always best, if you can, to start with the real item and then go to the abstract, applying the hands-on knowledge to your activity/project.

 

COFFEE FILTER BUTTERFLIES

 

 

Supplies Needed:

    

     Large coffee filters

     Pinch type clothespins (wooden ones are shown, but plastic ones work well also)

     Colorful chenille wires - 1/2 per butterfly

     Eyes - wiggle eyes and white glue OR a permanent marker (supervised by an adult!)

     Decorating medium:  watercolors, markers or crayons

 

Alternative:  If you do not have clothes pins, use a whole chenille wire wrapping it around the middle of the coffee filter, twisting and then bending antennae on the ends of the wire as shown below.

 

Photo source:  www.workitmom.com

 

 

Directions:

 

     1.  Flatten out the coffee filter.

 

 

Photo source:  www.crafts-for-all-seasons.com
 

 

     2.  Decorate the entire coffee filter

               Ideas:  When using markers to decorate your filter, you may want to lightly spray the     

                           finished design with water.  Watch the colors run and swirl together.

 

                   Whatever method of decorating you use, make sure if the filter is wet to allow it to

                    dry before proceeding.   Laying the wet filter in a window sill or in the sunlight

                    speeds up the drying process.

 

    3.  With thumb and pointer finger,  pinch the filter in the middle drawing up the outside edges

          and gathering it in the middle.

 

Photo source:  www.imperfecthomemaker.com
 

 

 

    4.  Open your clothes pin and slip in the pinched filter. 

 

    5.  Cut a chenille wire in half.  Bend this in half and curl the ends for the

         butterfly's antennae.  Clip the antennae inside the front of the clothespin.

 

    

Photo source:  Hidden Splendor

 

 

6. Add wiggle eyes on the top of the end of the clothes pin using white glue or use a marker

to draw on your eyes.

 

 

Photo source:  Hidden Splendor

 

Photo source:  www.meaningfulmama.com

 

Of course, if you have been a reader of this blog for very long, you know books need to be involved somewhere!  Your local library or educational web site can provide more information about beautiful butterflies to enhance your learning experience.

 

Below are a few of my favorite butterfly books.

 

1. metamorphosis!  caterpillar to...   by FLIPTOMANIA   www.Fliptomania.com  This is a flip book and totally awesome.  As you flip the pages of this book a caterpillar goes through all the stages until on the last page it is a butterfly.  I LOVE this book!

2.  Gotta Go!  Gotta Go!  by Sam Swope with picture by Sue Riddle.  This book travels through the life of a little caterpillar through metamorphosis and migration.  It covers the entire life cycle of a butterfly.  Totally cool book with catchy phrases kids will love.

3.  The Butterfly Counting Book by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Mark Astrella.  Count butterflies by twos and learn about butterflies from around the world with this book.  Do you know the word for butterfly in Hawaiian, Italian, Mexican, German, Russian, French, Japanese, Polish, Swahili, Philippines, or Chinese?  This book will teach you and show pictures of native butterflies from their country.  Adults even love this book. If you love other cultures and languages this is a great book.

4.  The Butterfly Alphabet  A Scholastic book by KJELL B. SANDVED.  The photographs in this book are so beautiful.  Close up photos of each letter of the alphabet found in the wing of a butterfly are showcased.  This book is remarkably amazing!

5.  Caterpillar to Butterfly  A Scholastic book by Elizabeth Rodger.  This pop-up book is popular for the younger child and tells the butterfly's story scientifically well.

6.  Caterpillar Hides Away  a Parragon Publishing Book illustrated by Katie George.  This book covers colors, camouflage and metamorphosis and is great for children 2-4 years old.


Of course, these are just a few of the many fun, educational butterfly books available.  Why not take a trip to the library and see what you can find?

Inspired from the book:

Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky Baxa

Available from http://www.Amazon.com

in both Kindle and Paperback versions