Here at Fun-A-Day, we are big fans of butterfly activities for preschoolers! If you and your students love butterflies as much as we do, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ve gathered all of our butterfly ideas here in one spot. From sensory play to books to literacy activities to printables – the butterfly fun doesn’t end. The preschool butterfly activities below are just what you need when you’re planning your next butterfly theme.
The ideas shared below are a great way to supplement and extend your butterfly plans. Pair them with real images and, if possible, real caterpillars and butterflies. With all of the engaging activities, your students are sure to learn so much about butterflies, caterpillars, and their life cycle.
To read more about each specific activity, click on the linked text. That will take you to the individual posts, where you’ll find more images and more details about the activities.
Oh, and be sure to check back here, as I’ll be updating this post as we share more butterfly activities for kids.
Butterfly Activities for Preschoolers
Here are all of the preschool butterfly activities we have on Fun-A-Day. I can’t wait to hear what you and your students think of them!
- Make a free butterfly life cycle printable book, using dyed pasta as the illustrations.
- Set up a butterfly sensory bin that doubles as a fine motor sorting activity. Be sure to grab the free printable sorting cards while you’re there.
- Let the kids help make butterfly life cycle sensory bottles. Lots of sorting practice along the way!
- If your students love making wearable crafts, this butterfly life cycle necklace is a must.
- Grab the free printable butterfly playdough mats for your sensory center.
- Help the children learn their names with two butterfly name activities for preschool.
Those are some of our very favorite butterfly activities for preschoolers. Which would your students like the most?
More Preschool Butterfly Activities
Of course, I couldn’t stop with the butterfly ideas we’ve created over the years. I also pulled together more ideas from other early childhood educators. Check out these collections, chock full of butterfly activities for preschoolers:
- Here are over 20 caterpillar and butterfly activities kids of all ages can enjoy.
- Grab these 15 life cycle of a butterfly printables to use in your classroom.
- Use a few of these butterfly crafts for preschoolers as part of your butterfly unit.
Be sure to pin this post for future reference! And while you’re there, check out my Butterfly Activities Pinterest Board.
Why Teach a Preschool Butterfly Theme?
All of the butterfly activities for preschoolers I share here have been used in one of my butterfly units. Or they’re on my to-try-next list! But WHY teach a butterfly theme in preschool?
Oh, there are so many reasons to put together a butterfly thematic unit for your students. Here are a few to consider:
- Young children are often fascinated by insects of all kinds.
- This fascination makes learning about butterflies more meaningful to most children.
- Caterpillars and butterflies are concrete concepts children can see and observe.
- Metamorphosis might be an abstract concept to many children. So being able to observe the process in real-life brings it to a more concrete level for the kids.
- It gets the kids interested in the world around them.
- You can integrate science with literacy, math, and sensory concepts so easily when discussing butterflies.
- A butterfly theme is a wonderful way to explore many of the 5 senses.
- You can differentiate your instruction during the theme to meet the needs of the individual children in your care.
Okay, I’m going to stop there. But that is not an exhaustive list! Most of all, I love leading a butterfly unit because the kids have so many questions about those little insects. So why not create a theme around what the kids are interested in?!
Now, the question is . . . which butterfly activity are you going to try first?
Materials for the Butterfly Preschool Activities
Here are some items that you might want to have on-hand for all of the butterfly activities for preschoolers (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Printer
- Laminator
- Paper cutter
- Rotini pasta
- Bowtie pasta
- Empty sensory bottles
- Sensory table
- Play dough
- Butterfly garden
Of course, you can just start with the supplies you already have in your teacher closet and go from there!
More Insect Activities for Preschoolers
If your students loved these butterfly activities for preschoolers, they might enjoy these bug and insect ideas, too:
- Insect Science Activities for Preschoolers
- Bee Slime
- Bug Sensory Bottles
- Printable Ladybug Letter Puzzles
Done-For-You Preschool Resources
Let Preschool Teacher 101 save you a ton of planning time with fully-developed, done-for-you resources! That way, you can focus on teaching while you’re in the classroom . . . and keep your personal time to yourself when you’re not at work.
Click on the image below to get our butterfly lesson plans. They come with weekly plans, detailed daily lesson plans, book suggestions, whole group activities, small group lessons, center ideas, and related printables. If the butterfly activities for preschoolers were a hit, you will love these lesson plans!
Here are a few more products to make your teaching life a whole lot easier! Click on the images to check out each product:
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers. And be sure to join the waitlist for The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101, a membership for teachers like you. Members get access to all of our products, as well as some exclusive items.
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