Butterfly Life Cycle Craft (with free template)
We recently got our caterpillar to butterfly kit in for the summer - I did this when I was little and we began ordering them last year once Rhett was old enough to understand the process. Now, each morning both boys rush to go check on their caterpillars and wish them a "good morning!"
The caterpillars have about 6 more days until they all turn into chrysalises! You can order yours from Amazon here. It comes with a cup of caterpillars, a netting enclosure to put the chrysalises inside of to prep for their transformation, and supplies to feed the butterflies once they emerge. Then, you get to set them free! So fun.
To go along with this science experiment, we did a Life Cycle craft so the boys could dive a little deeper into what is about to happen in our home!
Here are the details of the craft -
Butterfly Life Cycle Craft for Kids (with free template)
My boy's crafts when they were done with theirs!
Supplies Needed
- Free printable life cycle template & butterfly (DOWNLOAD HERE)
- Paper plate
- Stick Glue (& hot glue for more difficult items like leaf and stick)
- Egg options: Yogurt covered raisin, piece of corn or white construction paper cut into a small circle
- Leaf from a tree outside
- Pipe cleaners cut into thirds (yellow, green, and black)
- Chrysalis options: Green construction paper or green tissue paper
- Real (small) twig
- Crayons or markers
Instructions
Download the free template of the life cycle and butterfly and print out. Cut out both items.
Glue the circle life cycle template circle on a paper plate.
Egg Section: Hot glue egg to leaf and let dry.
When dry, hot glue the leaf itself under the "egg" portion of template.
Caterpillar Section: Twist the three colors of pipe cleaner into caterpillars. Make sure you have cut the pipe cleaners into thirds before this so your caterpillars are short!
Hot glue pipe cleaner above the "caterpillar" section of the template.
Chrysalis Section: Hot glue the little twig above the Chrysallis section - more towards the middle of the circle to leave room for the chrysalis.
Cut chrysalis out of green construction paper or green tissue paper.
Glue chrysalis directly under the twig so it appears to be hanging from the twig.
Butterfly Section: Take cut out butterfly from the template and color it any color you want! Be creative!
Glue butterfly above "Butterfly" section.
All done! Once all glue is dry, use it to go through the life cycle stages of the butterfly - you can even have your child explain it back to you!
We also enjoyed reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the National Geographic Kids book Caterpillar to Butterfly. My boys are obsessed with Wild Kratts right now, so we watched the episode about butterflies too (Season 1, Episode 8).
Did you do this craft or order a caterpillar to butterfly kit? Tag me on Instagram and let me know or comment below!