Butterfly Life Cycle Lesson Plan for Kids
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Is there anything more mysterious in life than metamorphosis? Teaching kids a butterfly life cycle lesson plan is something they will never forget! Bug facts for kids are so much fun to learn!
Your kids will love to learn about it up close and personal! To be honest, you will learn an amazing amount of things too. I can’t believe how awestruck I am every single time we watch the change. We’ve been doing it every year for at least 15 years. I get emotional every time. I love watching miracles!
Metamorphosis for kids
There are a ton of ways you can help your kids learn about metamorphosis. One way is to order caterpillars online and observe them. Another way is to watch videos online like this one that shows how we grew fennel in the children’s garden and found eggs and brought a few in to watch the whole metamorphosis process. It was so cool!
You can also get tons of great toys, posters, books and other supplies available to go along with your metamorphosis lessons. We learned how to grow things in our garden that actually attract caterpillars and we have watched them go through metamorphosis in an observation box. It’s so much fun to watch them change. Amazing.
For 16 printable life cycle posters to use with your kids, check out this listing on Teachers Pay Teachers.
A few weeks ago we found these cute little fellas on the dill. So we brought them in and continued to feed them fresh dill every day. After a few days, they each formed a chrysalis.
A couple of weeks later, one of the butterflies came out of the chrysalis.
At first they pump their wings to dry them. We let our butterfly open all the way up and then took him outside to release.
It was a beautiful black swallowtail.
The kids loved watching the little guy get ready to fly for the first time.
Check out this printable Butterfly Life Cycle Lap Book with 6 worksheets to go along with your lessons. So cute!
You can also make these fun butterfly crafts with your kids with things you probably already have at home.
Preschool life cycle of a butterfly
Metamorphosis is one of the many amazing things the kids have discovered in the garden. We plant a row of dill and fennel with parsley and flowers to attract caterpillars to watch. It’s an amazing science lesson.
If you’d like to order some caterpillars for your kids to watch metamorphosis, you can get them online here.
Once butterflies eclose from their chrysalis, the average lifespan is about two weeks. They pollinate as they sip nectar from flower buds and help the garden grow. They are beautiful to watch, come in so many shapes, sizes and colors, and they add lots of life to the garden. I suggest you plant lots of things that will attract butterflies to your garden for tons of lessons for you and the kids.
Find a garden and look for some magic, I know you will find some.
For more preschool lesson plan ideas for your home daycare, check these out. Here are some great ideas for Home Daycare Curriculum.
And for more bug facts, check out:
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I think you should follow up with these kids in 20 years or so and find out how many have their PhDs. I bet it will be a higher percentage than the general population 🙂
Wow, what a compliment. I sure hope so!