Butterfly Life Cycle Story Board

It is time for this week’s Playful Preschool Series .  Our theme is life cycles.

This science and literacy activity is a fun way to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly and build language skills.

Butterfly Story Board

Full Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links.

Why We Chose This Language Activity

We recently visited the Butterfly House in St. Louis and my boys loved observing all the beautiful butterflies around them.  I told them that when the weather warmed we would get eggs and watch them turn into butterflies.  I’ve used this butterfly kit in the past so we are going to order it again soon.

The kids have also been heading to the non-fiction easy reader section of the library.  So, we got these books on a recent trip.

1.  Can You Find These Butterflies by Bredeson

Takes a looks at 10 different kinds of butterflies.

2.  Butterflies (A First Discovery Book) by Heliadore

My almost 3 year-old loved the transparent pages in this book.  When we read that a butterfly’s tongue is like a straw, they quickly ran and got straws and a glass of water to drink like a butterfly.

3.  The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer

A very simple and basic book for explaining the life cycle of a butterfly.

Setting Up and Playing

Materials Needed: felt board, felt pieces (white, green, orange and yellow), black and green markers, pipe cleaner and scissors

1. For our felt board we bought  a car mat from The Dollar Tree.  It makes the perfect board!  We just used the felt board on the floor.

2. Cut out an egg and chrysalis out of the white felt. Use a black marker to embellish the chrysalis.  Make the caterpillar out of yellow felt with black and green marker details.  The butterfly can be orange or really any color of your choosing.  You can also cut out smaller pieces for the kids to decorate their butterfly. Finally, you need a green leaf.

We did all of our cutting free hand.

3. Cut the pipe cleaner into four equal pieces.

It is time to read and play!

Read one or more of the books above.  Discuss the life cycle of the butterfly as you read and look at the pictures.

Then, introduce the felt pieces and talk about each part.  Ask your child to retell the life cycle of a butterfly using the felt pieces.

Using manipulatives helps young children retrieve the language needed to retell a story.

Encourage your child to use words such as first, then, next and finally.  Also help to plant the following vocabulary: egg, chrysalis, caterpillar, and molt.

It was so interesting to listen to my almost 3 year-old and 4 year-old each explain the life cycle of a butterfly to Daddy when he came home from work.  Both of them knew the cycle, but my 4 year-old had a much better grasp of the science vocabulary.

We can’t wait to get our butterfly garden!

Lots of preschool science and literacy fun!

Keep reading.  Visit the links below for more great life cycle ideas from the #playfulpreschool team!

Butterfly Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Life Cycle of the Butterfly in Art by Powerful Mothering
Playdough Butterfly Life Cycle by Learning 2 Walk
Butterfly Life Cycle Craft Necklace by Fun-A-Day

Ladybug Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Ladybug Life Cycle Song by Capri +3
Ladybug Life Cycle Activities and Sensory Play by Natural Beach Living

Frog Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Life Cycle of a Frog Sensory Bin by Mom Inspired Life
Fine-Motor Frog Life Cycle Craft by Live Over C’s
Frog Life Cycle Hopscotch by Tiny Tots Adventures
Frog Life Cycle Craft by Still Playing School

Mealworms Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Studying Mealworms with Kids by Raising Lifelong Learners

Sea Turtle Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Sea Turtle Life Cycle – Ordering by Rainy Day Mum

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Activities for Kids

Raise a Praying Mantis | Activities for Kids to Explore Life Cycles by The Educators’ Spin On It