Teaching about Life Cycles is one of my favorite units to teach! (I say that about a lot of units, but I think I just love to teach little ones about science!) Teaching about butterflies is the first life cycle I teach. I love to do a big interactive bulletin board with each topic.
We start the week with a big blank bulletin board. I start with Fadeless® Art Black Paper Roll, then I layer White Scalloped Bulletin Board Border with White Dots on Chalkboard Bulletin Board Border over the top to add a 3D effect. Each day we do a craft to add to the bulletin board.
Teaching about Life Cycles is one of my favorite units to teach! (I say that about a lot of units, but I think I just love to teach little ones about science!) Teaching about butterflies is the first life cycle I teach. I love to do a big interactive bulletin board with each topic.
The first thing I do is use Pacon® Riverside® Construction Paper - Green to make a leaf. Then I get out the Jumbo Colorful Chubby Brushes and Small Paint Cups. I pour the Crayola® White Washable Paint- 16oz into the white Small Paint Cups.
Because butterflies lay their eggs on leaves, and they looks like little white balls. I paint a little 3in square of bubble wrap with white paint. Then the students pressed the bubble wrap onto the leaves.
It looks like a little cluster of butterfly eggs. Then once we are done with our leaves, I pick a couple of students to hang their leaves on the bulletin board.
When the butterfly eggs hatch, they turn into a caterpillar. I have the students use Pacon® Riverside® Construction Paper-Dark Brown to tear off branches. Then they glue them to a piece of Pacon® Riverside® Construction Paper-Green. Then I gave them a Chenille Stems- Green to make into a caterpillar. They bent them however they wanted. Because chenille stems can be kind of tricky to glue, we used Clear Glue Dots® to adhere them to the branch.
The pupa is probably my favorite part of the bulletin board. I took a Green Square Paper Dinner Plate and cut a long oval in the middle. Then I took a hole punch and made holes all around the oval. I taped a long piece of brown yarn to the back, and let the kids lace to their hearts were content. They had fun and were secretly working on fine motor skills at the same time.
The Paper Plate Butterfly Craft was so easy for them to do. They had to apply the body of the butterfly, then they could use the included stickers to decorate his wings. Each butterfly had their own little personality.
This was such a child driven bulletin board. The students loved making each part of it, and it solidified their learning of the life cycle.
