Butterfly Lesson Plans

Summer Poems, Songs & Rhymes

Summer Lesson Plans

Folded Paint Butterfly

Lesson Plan:  ​

Folded Paint Butterfly

Age Group:

Preschool

Objectives:

​Children will

• learn about symmetry by relating it to butterfly wings
• participate in open-ended art

​CDA Competency Standard:

II.5.1a

• Activities encourage curiosity, exploration and discovery.

a) Activities involve developmentally appropriate, hands-on experiences
​
example: A variety of activities are provided to introduce young children to math, science, technology, social studies and other curricular disciplines

Materials:

• ​Butterfly cut outs
• Paint
• Book: What is Symmetry in Nature? (Looking at Nature)

Procedure:

1. Read the book "What is Symmetry in Nature?"
2. Fold cut out in half before adding paint and then reopen
3. Have the child add paint dots and thin squiggles to one half of the butterfly
4. Refold the butterfly and press
5. Open butterfly and allow to dry
6. Discuss the mirror image created and how this mimics symmetry found in real butterfly wings.

Assessment:

• Observe the child's understanding of symmetry.
• Did they notice how the colors blended?
• Record conversations or ideas the children said during the activity. 

​Online Early Childhood Education
​Click on the course icon for enrollment information.

Facts About Butterflies

Here are some fascinating facts about butterflies:

• Butterfly wings are actually transparent. The vibrant colors and patterns we see are made by the reflection of the tiny scales covering their wings.
• Butterflies taste with their feet. They have taste receptors on their feet to help them find their host plants and locate food.
• Adult butterflies can only feed on liquids, usually nectar. Their mouthparts are modified to enable them to drink, but they can’t chew solids.
• A butterfly’s proboscis, which functions as a drinking straw, stays curled up under the butterfly’s chin until it finds a source of nectar or other liquid nutrition.
• Butterflies drink from mud puddles to supplement their diet of nectar. This behavior, called puddling, occurs more often in male butterflies.
• Butterflies have four wings. They have a pair of forewings and a pair of hind wings that move in a figure-eight motion.
• Butterflies have compound eyes. This means that they have one big eye that comprises up to 17,000 mini eyes.
• Butterflies can fly at speeds of up to 37 MPH.
• The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago.
• There are about 17,500 different species of butterflies.
• Butterflies and bees are two of the world’s greatest pollinators.
• A group of butterflies is often called a flutter.
• Butterflies are distributed throughout the world except in the very cold and arid (dry) regions.

These facts highlight the unique characteristics and important ecological roles of butterflies.