Caterpillars and Butterflies Lesson Planning Page
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Use the suggested ideas on this page to help you plan your
preschool Caterpillars and Butterflies Lesson Plan
preschool Caterpillars and Butterflies Lesson Plan
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Create a butterfly with a lesson in symmetry with this Butterfly Symmetry Project from Pre-K Printable Fun
More 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
Life Sized butterfly garden
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.
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.
More Dramatic Play Ideas:
building & small world 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".
Butterfly small world play
Butterfly small world play created by fun at home with kids
Butterfly flip & count
Practice numeral recognition, counting skills, and cardinality with this butterfly flip and count activity. Flip numbers 1-20 and add the corresponding number of butterflies to the jar-Pre-K Printable Fun
Sorting Butterflies by size Activity found inside the PKPF Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
Butterfly Visual Discrimination Match-Up Activity found inside the PKPF Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
Caterpillar and Butterfly matching activity from the Pre-K Printable Fun Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack shared by Darlene G.
Counting Butterfly Mats from the Pre-K Printable Fun Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack shared by Darlene G.
Here is a fun and easy DIY activity to compliment the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
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.
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.
More 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
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
find and punch letter match
The 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
Felt 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.
Practice Matching Uppercase/Lowercase Letters with this set of Butterfly Puzzles from Pre-K Printable Fun.
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.
MY BOOK PICKS
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
More Ideas:
Watch 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.
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.
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!
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!
Be on the lookout in your outdoor space for visiting butterflies and caterpillars. See if you can identify the butterflies and track which kind visit.
Talk about the natural habitats for your butterflies, release them into your garden once they are ready!
Life Cycle of a Butterfly Activity from Pre-K Printable Fun
This Very Hungry Caterpillar Inspired sensory bin was created by Pre-K Printable Fun Community Member Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center
Club Member Tara K. set up the Caterpillar & Butterfly 3-part cards, and Life cycle near her growing
caterpillars for reference.
caterpillars for reference.
More 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
Static Electricity Butterfly experiment from A Little Pinch of Perfect
For a fun spin on gross motor activities, use these Caterpillar & Butterfly action cards included in the PKPF Caterpillar and Butterfly activity pack
Invitation to wrap a caterpillar in a cocoon
Set out rotini pasta (caterpillars) and green yarn strands. The child can practice wrapping the caterpillars, and unwrapping them for the next student.
More physical
development Ideas:
Catch Paper Butterflies Activity from A Little Learning for Two
Leaf Threading from Stimulating Learning
Leaf Threading from Stimulating Learning
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!
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.
