Releasing butterflies at the end of the year is my favourite way to make memories with my students. We raise them from caterpillars, watch them turn into chrysalises and metamorphosis into butterflies. While this is happening, I love to engage my students in butterfly activities for kindergarten.
Here are some of the things we did this past year (contains some affiliate links):
Learning About Butterflies
When our caterpillars first arrived, students had the opportunity to observe them and ask questions. This helped me lead the learning that we did together.
I used a slideshow to help students learn more about the lifecycle of butterflies, and we made predictions for what we would see happen to our caterpillars. It was great to help my students wonder and deepen their understanding of what they noticed.
Lifecycle
We learned the vocabulary for all the stages of the lifecycle of a butterfly. We read the book The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies.
Students were so excited to see our own caterpillars go through the different stages!
Another book that my students loved and taught us so many vocabulary words was The Very Impatient Caterpillar. My class asked me to re-read this story at least 5 times. They thought it was the best!
Parts of a Butterfly
Once our butterflies emerged, our students were able to get a close-up look at them. They got to see the proboscis in action, the wings flapping and the feet tasting the oranges.
Students were so excited to be able to see the butterflies!
Art Butterfly Activities for Kindergarten
We used pompoms and paint to make these fun caterpillars.
I used clothespins to hold pompoms so that students could use them as a stamp. I also put a piece of painter’s tape to section off the bottom part of the paper to make that nice line.
Students were also invited to paint a butterfly with watercolours. We discussed the symmetry of a butterfly and the different parts that we could paint.
Sensory Bin
I cut up and painted egg cartons to make caterpillars and butterflies. Students could use the tweezers to pick up and sort the pompoms.
This was such a colourful and fun sensory bin for students to engage with.
Symmetry Butterfly Activities for Kindergarten
We used pattern blocks to create our own symmetrical butterflies
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You can see more about this activity here.
My husband cut out these butterfly silhouettes in pieces of wood. Students were able to use various colourful loose parts to create their own symmetrical butterflies.
Writing About Butterflies
My students created their own class book and wrote about what they would do if they were a butterfly. They had some beautiful responses, “Go visit my family in Africa”, “Go to the park”.
Once every student wrote their page, I bound the pages together to create a class book that I added to our classroom library.
At the end of our learning about butterflies, we discussed why they are so important to our environment and what we can do to help them.
This was a great way to wrap up our learning before releasing our butterflies.
What are your favourite butterfly activities for kindergarten students? Let me know in the comments!