Terrific Tuesdays with Stephanie of Somewhat Simple

Hi guys! My name is Stephanie and I am the creator of the site Somewhat Simple. I am excited to be here today to feature a fun project my kids and I did together last summer.

One day while playing outside, my 2 youngest were fascinated by all the butterflies flying around. I came up with this 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 8, 4 and 3, 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 8 year old did a similar project in 1st grade 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 3 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