Preschool Caterpillar and Butterfly Activities and Lesson Planning Ideas
On this page you'll find preschool caterpillar and butterfly themed activities for your preschool lesson plans.
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Plan your Caterpillars and Butterflies Theme
Use the suggested learning objectives and vocabulary ideas found our our theme map, along with our carefully selected educational activities below to help you plan your lessons! Purchase our coordinating easy to assemble printable activities and games to save even more time planning your lessons!
Free Caterpillars and Butterflies Preschool Theme Map
Subscribe below and we'll send you a free sample plan we created using ideas found on this page!
*Butterfly Symmetry ArtCreate a butterfly with a lesson in symmetry with this Butterfly Symmetry craft project from Pre-K Printable Fun.
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Egg carton caterpillars
Have your students bring in their old egg cartons, to recycle them into caterpillars. Cut the egg cartons into strips of at least three bumps. Flip them over to decorate anyway you choose. Use items like pipe cleaners
for antennae.
for antennae.
More Caterpillar & Butterfly Art & Creative Ideas:
Butterfly Life cycle Necklace from Fun A Day
Kid Made Butterfly Feeder from Reading Confetti
Coffee filter Butterfly from Parenting.com
Caterpillar Craft from Lil' Scholars University
Egg Carton Caterpillars from Happy Birthday Author
Invitation to create Butterflies from Strong Start
Kid Made Butterfly Feeder from Reading Confetti
Coffee filter Butterfly from Parenting.com
Caterpillar Craft from Lil' Scholars University
Egg Carton Caterpillars from Happy Birthday Author
Invitation to create Butterflies from Strong Start
Butterfly Habitat
Transform your Dramatic Play area into a life-sized Butterfly Habitat this week. Add pretend Flowers, Indoor/Outdoor "grass" carpet, and Butterfly Wings. Cover a Table or a Large Box with Green or Leafy tablecloth.
This Fabulous Butterfly Habitat Dramatic Play space was created by Miss Hope.
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Photo Credit: Miss Hope
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Entomologist Lab
Another option for the Dramatic Play Space this week, is to turn it into a Entomologist Lab. Add Posters of Insects, Child Safe Microscopes and Slides. Notebooks, Clipboards and Writing Tools. Add a Butterfly Habitat with Pretend Butterflies, and Caterpillars.
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Photo Credit: Mrs. Alexander's amazing Ants
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More Caterpillar & Butterfly Dramatic Play Ideas:
Caterpillar and Butterfly block Play
For the Construction area this week, consider: Laminating Butterfly and Caterpillar Pattern Block Templates. Add pretend Butterflies and Caterpillars to your Block Play area. Add some natural Tree Blocks to your Building Space. Add a variety of pretend plants and flowers will allow the children to create an "Indoor Garden".
Small World Play Butterfly Garden
Add pretend butterflies, caterpillars, tree blocks and flowers to create an indoor pretend garden.
For inspiration check out this Butterfly small world play created by fun at home with kids
For inspiration check out this Butterfly small world play created by fun at home with kids
Butterfly Symmetry pattern block building
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Create your own butterfly symmetry patterns using pattern blocks. Our Butterfly mats include a single pattern on one side. Your student practices creating the pattern on the left, and then will need to flip the pieces over to recreate it on the right (without a guide). This is a great task for visual perception which is important for reading and math.
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Butterfly Pattern Block mats from our Spring Pattern Block mat collection.
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*Butterfly Letter PuzzlesPractice Matching Uppercase/Lowercase Letters with this set of Butterfly Puzzles included in the Caterpillar & Butterfly Activity Pack from Pre-K Printable Fun.
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Retell your Favorite Caterpillar/Butterfly Story
Sheena W. of Building Blocks Family Childcare added a The Very Hungry Caterpillar felt set for children to retell the beloved story from Eric Carle.
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Butterfly 3-part cards
These butterfly 3-Part cards can be used in so many ways and are a fantastic way to introduce theme specific nomenclature. Use these as a memory game (as shown above, or in combination with butterfly replicas, or print two sets and separate the word form the photo on one set and encourage students to match them up.
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Caterpillar Name Building Activity
Cut out green circles, and add each letter of your students name to a circle. Have your student create their own name caterpillar by gluing each letter of their name in order to a construction paper leaf. Finish the caterpillar by adding google eyes, drawing 6 legs, and drawing on a face.
Searching for B's and C's
Search the room for items that start with B's and C's!
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Explore My World Butterflies by Marfe Ferguson Delano
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman and Bari Weissman
Hurry and the Monarch by Antoine O Flatharta and Meilo So
Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin and Lois Ehlert
Bye, Bye, Butterflies! by Andrew Larsen
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman and Bari Weissman
Hurry and the Monarch by Antoine O Flatharta and Meilo So
Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin and Lois Ehlert
Bye, Bye, Butterflies! by Andrew Larsen
Learn about the Smallest & Largest Butterflies & Caterpillars
Do some research and learn more about the smallest and largest butterflies and caterpillars.
Make real-life representations
Make real-life representations
Roll a ButterflyInvite your preschoolers to practice number and number word recognition with this Roll a Butterfly activity from the PKPF Caterpillar & Butterfly Activity Pack. Flip numbers 1-20 and add the corresponding number of butterflies to the jar.
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Butterfly Sort By SizeSorting Butterflies by size Activity found inside the PKPF Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
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Butterfly Symmetry PuzzlesButterfly Visual Discrimination Match-Up Activity found inside our Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
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Caterpillar to Butterfly Number Match-UpDiscover different types of butterflies and the caterpillars they emerge from!
This activity from my Caterpillars & Butterflies Activity Pack is a fun way to blend science and math. Children match up the numbers on the caterpillar cards to the butterflies on the mat to learn which butterfly each caterpillar turns into. |
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Counting with the Hungry Caterpillar
Here is a fun and easy DIY activity to compliment the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle contributed by Sheena W. of Building Blocks Family Child Care.
Create a "caterpillar" from a cylinder container (in the photo above the provider up-cycled a container of baby puff snacks). Put stickers that match the items from the book onto construction paper cut into small squares. Be sure to add the same quantity of each food as shown in the book (one apple, two pears, etc.) Children "feed" the caterpillar the food as they follow along with the story. This activity supports 1:1 correspondence as well as counting and sorting. |
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More Caterpillar & Butterfly Math Ideas:
Butterfly Number Line Activity
from Mom Inspired Life
Color Matching Butterflies
from Wait 'Til your Father gets Home
Fingerprint counting printable
from Fun Handprint Art Blog
Free Hungry Caterpillar Number Cards
from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
from Mom Inspired Life
Color Matching Butterflies
from Wait 'Til your Father gets Home
Fingerprint counting printable
from Fun Handprint Art Blog
Free Hungry Caterpillar Number Cards
from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
*Raise ButterfliesWatch caterpillars make the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly with a Butterfly Garden.
These little guys grow fast and the entire process is fascinating! Encourage preschoolers to record their growth by drawing pictures of what they see each week. |
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Talk about the natural habitats for your butterflies, release them into your garden once they are ready!
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Create a Mini Butterfly Garden Plan and create a mini butterfly garden with your preschoolers.
Set it up outside to invite butterflies and other creatures to visit. Check the garden often and observe for visitors. You can use many different containers for your butterfly garden. One that can be enclosed, like the one pictured (here is the latest model) is great for observation! |
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Make Observations in Your EnvironmentBe on the lookout in your outdoor space for visiting butterflies and caterpillars. See if you can identify the butterflies and track which kind visit.
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Butterfly Life CycleLife Cycle of a Butterfly Activity from the Caterpillar & Butterflies Activity Pack from Pre-K Printable Fun
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Sensory PlayThis Very Hungry Caterpillar Inspired sensory bin was created by Pre-K Printable Fun Community Member Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center.
I love how she incorporated literacy, math, and science in one activity. |
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Caterpillar Observations
Club Member Tara K. set up the Caterpillar & Butterfly 3-part cards, and Life cycle near her growing caterpillars for reference.
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More Caterpillar & Butterfly Science & Discovery Ideas:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sensory Tub from the Imagination Tree
Plant a Butterfly Garden with these Free seeds from Live Monarch
Static Electricity Butterfly experiment from A Little Pinch of Perfect
Plant a Butterfly Garden with these Free seeds from Live Monarch
Static Electricity Butterfly experiment from A Little Pinch of Perfect
*Find and Punch Letter MatchThe find and punch letter match activity is easy to play. Simply flip the card and find the matching letter on the big leaf and punch a hole. Working with a hole punch requires great strength and hand-eye coordination. Preschoolers love to use these special tools and need lots of hand strengthening exercises. Pre-K Printable Fun
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Caterpillar & Butterfly Inspired MovementFor a fun spin on gross motor activities, use these Caterpillar & Butterfly action cards included in our Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
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Invitation to wrap a caterpillar in a cocoon
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Set out rotini pasta (caterpillars) and yarn strands. The child can practice wrapping the caterpillars, and unwrapping them for the next student. This activity is great for building bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination, and persistence skills.
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Catching Paper Butterflies
Going for a hunt around the classroom to catch butterflies is a great gross motor activity. If you make paper butterflies and hang them around your room with string and tape. Students can use butterfly nets to catch butterflies around the room. To make the activity more challenging you can call out specific colors of butterflies the students need to look for.
More Caterpillar & Butterfly Physical Development Ideas:
Catch Paper Butterflies Activity from A Little Learning for Two
Leaf Threading from Stimulating Learning
Leaf Threading from Stimulating Learning
What Butterflies live in your area? - Learn More About Your Community
Learn more about the butterflies that are found in your area. Set up an information center,
featuring photos of commonly spotted butterflies.
featuring photos of commonly spotted butterflies.
Visit a Butterfly Garden-Learn More About Your Community
If you don't have a Butterfly Garden in your area to visit, check out virtual field trips online.
Butterfly Breathing Calm Down technique- Self
Ask students to stand tall and spread out their wings like a butterfly. As they spread out their wings take in a deep breathe. Then have them relax their wings by their sides and breathe out. Do they feel relaxed?
Group Discussion: How I'm Transforming
Just like how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, each one of us has transformed from the start of the school year until now. What is one way you think you have transformed so far this year?
Play a Game Together-Teamwork
Set this activity up for children to engage in with a partner. Children take turns flipping a number card and adding butterflies to the jar. This activity is included in our Caterpillars & Butterflies Activity Pack.
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Collaborative Art-Teamwork
Ask parents to send in empty egg cartons for children to transform.
Alternatively, challenge families to build a caterpillar at home using an egg carton as a base. They can then add on paint, color with markers, and glue on recyclables. Display in the classroom.
Alternatively, challenge families to build a caterpillar at home using an egg carton as a base. They can then add on paint, color with markers, and glue on recyclables. Display in the classroom.
Butterfly Walk in your Neighborhood-Learn More About Your Neighborhood
Get to know your neighbors! Take a walk in your neighborhood to look for butterflies.
Chat with a neighbor. Ask them if they've seen any butterflies in their yards, and what kind they saw!
Chat with a neighbor. Ask them if they've seen any butterflies in their yards, and what kind they saw!
Parent Engagement
Ask parents to share photos they may have of caterpillars and butterflies. Be sure they include any story behind the photos, such as where the photo was taken. Some parents may even have butterfly or caterpillar specimens they can bring in!
