Everything Butterfly: Butterfly Garden

What REALLY got us started with a love for butterflies this year was a simple caterpillar kit we ordered online (see my affiliate link below for further details).  The kit came with wonderful instructions, five live caterpillars, and a large butterfly house/net.

IF you are approaching cooler weather where you live you may want to save this activity for spring OR complete now but consider releasing the butterflies at a local indoor butterfly garden!  We had SO MUCH fun watching the life-cycle unfold before our eyes!

After we released our butterflies we started to make our own back yard garden.  My husband cut out a small rectangular place in our yard, bordered it with wood planks, and filled it with loose soil.

Next, we added two types of plants...HOST plants and NECTAR plants.  Host plants are the plants that butterflies lay their eggs on.  For example a monarch butterfly will lay her eggs on a milkweed plant SO milkweed would be considered the host plant.  Different butterflies prefer different types of host plants!  The best way to know what type of host plants to plant in your garden is to see what type of butterflies are in your local area.  Then pick out host plants that those butterflies will lay their eggs on.  Not sure what type of butterflies you have in your yard?  Visit a local nursery or science center and ask!!  The butterflies can smell the host plant many miles away and will come to your garden to lay their eggs!

We are fortunate to live close to a wonderful nursery that actually encourages you to plant butterfly gardens.  They have many types of host plants available for purchase.  Pictured above are the plant labels of what butterflies they will attract.

Next (the easy part), plant nectar plants for your butterflies to feed on!  Some nectar plants butterflies really enjoy so carefully read your plant labels to see if they will attract butterflies!  Try to plant a variety of colors and flowers that bloom throughout the season!

TA-DA!!!  

Now watch & wait to see your new winged friends visit your garden!

Everything Butterfly: Butterfly Bubbles

Welcome back to "Everything Butterfly" if you missed the introduction post click HERE!  

We absolutely LOVE bubble wands!!!  I think they make the BEST bubbles.  Kids love bubbles AND they are a great learning tool for the young child!  We decided to get creative and turn our bubble wand into a butterfly!

These are the following items you will need...

1. Bubble Wand
2. Large Foam Butterfly Cut-Out
3. Pipe Cleaner for the Antenna
4. Googly Eyes 
5. Stickers (or other fun objects to decorate with)
6. Hot Glue to Attach Foam to Bubbles (for ADULTS only)

 Tips & Ideas for Your Butterfly Bubbles

• To use the foam butterfly for just the wings simply trim off the foam antennas (you will be using pipe cleaners for the antenna).
• Kids may want to decorate with markers BUT markers will bleed when bubbles are blown.
• The butterfly bubbles are REUSABLE!!!  Simply REFILL when the bubbles run out. 
• GREAT craft idea for playdates.
• Use as a party favor for a birthday or special get together.
• Give as a gift to someone special!
• I called these bubbles "butterfly kisses" when we blew them!  The children thought this was fun and silly!
• See the supplies below from my amazon affiliate link!

Happy Creating Butterfly Bubbles!!

Everything Butterfly: Hands on Life-Cycle

Welcome to "Everything Butterfly!"  If you missed the introduction click HERE! Today's "Everything Butterfly" post shares two simple hands-on activities that teach the butterfly life-cycle.  The first activity uses play dough!

Print off a simple life cycle worksheet and place it inside a plastic page protector.  The plastic page protector will act as a play dough mat which will prevent the play dough from sticking to it!  Using play dough have your child form each stage, discuss the stage as they create it.  I also supplied a butterfly cookie cutter for additional play and fun!


The next activity uses a popcorn seed and uncooked noodles to form the life-cycle on a stick!

• The Popcorn Seed = Egg
• The Rotini Noodle = Caterpillar
• The Shell Noodle = Chrysalis
• The Farfalle Noodle = Butterfly

I attached each piece with a hot glue for extra security! 

I love teaching through great books!  Check out these titles below through my affiliate links!  Happy butterfly learning!

Everything Butterfly: Introduction

The life cycle of the butterfly is truly amazing.  It points to our creator who so intelligently, beautifully, and magnificently created butterflies for His glory and our knowing and enjoyment of Him!

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 

Romans 1: 20 (NLT)

Join me as I share with you our enjoyment of God's creation, EVERYTHING BUTTERFLY!  We have been very busy watching the life-cycle unfold, visiting our local butterfly garden, making our own backyard butterfly garden, creating butterfly arts & crafts, and even eating fun butterfly themed treats.

Today I will share with you a simple stamping activity that will help children recognize that God created butterflies for His glory!  This lesson was taken from "Jesus, What a Savior!" curriculum created by Children Desiring God.  If you would like to read the review of this particular curriculum click HERE.

The lesson is titled, "God Created the World to show How Special He Is."  I have used this lesson MANY times while studying or enjoying nature with my children.  The key verse is Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims his handiwork."  The three main ideas are...

1. God is overflowing in His greatness and worth.
2. Creation is a display of how special God is.
3. In creation, we can see, feel, touch, hear, and smell how special God is. (Click HERE for more ideas of how to extend this idea). 

After discussing the main ideas and reading the correlated bible verses we stamped butterflies to the worksheet above.  The completed worksheet would then communicate to the child, "God Created BUTTERFLIES (stamped picture) to Show How Special He Is."  After, I displayed the completed worksheet for us to be reminded of this great truth!


If you are looking for another way to use stamps try this...

Simply use a variety of colored markers to color directly onto the rubber stamp then press stamp directly onto the paper for a beautiful colorful design!

Please join me as I share with you and your family more "EVERYTHING BUTTERFLY"  activities and ideas!