1-2-3 Come Make Butterflies and Flowers With Me!

Are you studying butterflies or looking for a quick and easy center activity that makes a lovely spring bulletin board or window display, that will brighten up your room?

Wax paper butterflies jazzed up with melted crayons, might be just what you need.

Here’s how to make them:

Run off the body part of the butterfly on a variety of colors of construction paper.

Rough cut them and stack them into color piles so that students can choose their favorite.

While students are working on a tabletop lesson, call them individually to the table.

Students choose a color or colors of crayons that they want to shave.

Students hold the sharpener over a sheet of wax paper big enough to be able to trace 3 hearts on.

You need it larger so that when the shavings melt, they do not run outside of the wax paper.

Make sure the wax paper is on a mini ironing board or a folded towel.

When the child has enough shavings sprinkled around the paper, lay a second piece of wax paper on top.

Using an iron on the lowest setting, slowly melt the shavings. Be careful that the pools do not run off the paper.

Let cool a few seconds and have the child step to the side to trace the heart template onto the wax paper.

Once done, she takes her paper back to her seat and cuts out the hearts and glues them to the back of her butterfly’s thorax.

When they are done, they can bring their butterfly up to you, so that you can give them glue dots for their wiggle eyes and rhinestones that they have picked out.

These look fabulous on a window. Simply put a small piece of folded tape on the thorax and stick.

Click on the link to view/download the wax paper butterfly activity

If you don’t want to mess with melting crayons, squares of tissue paper attached with
Elmer’s glue also look awesome.

There are 12 different templates in the wax paper and tissue packet.

These projects are simple, inexpensive, quick, and also look fantastic hanging in a window.

My students loved making them and always asked to do more than one.

Tape them to a sheet of construction paper as a "flip up" and you have a "way cool" greeting card for Mother’s Day or whatever.

Click on the link to view/download the Monthly Wax Paper Art Projects

Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” –Maya Angelou

1-2-3 Come Figure Out Story Elements With Me

Making The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Dangler is a fun way to help students reinforce their understanding of content, as well as the following Common Core State Standards: L.K.2a, L.K.2b, RF.K.3a, RF.K.3d, RF.1.1a, RL.1.2,W.K.7,SL.K.2, RL.K.2, RL.K.3

The "craftivity" is an interesting way for students to show their ability to retell a story, as well as a gauge for the teacher to see if anyone needs help with comprehension.

The smile is the title of the story, and the circle is about characters and setting. The leaf with the egg on it = the beginning of the story, the apple = the middle of the story, and the 3D butterfly = the end of the story.

After reading the story, review concepts of print with your students. Discuss who the characters are, where the setting takes place, as well as what happens in the beginning, middle and end of the story.

When students can identify the important events from the beginning, middle and end of a story, their reading comprehension and writing ability improves.

This knowledge helps a reader understand how organization, sequence, and plot make a good story, so they hopefully will include it in their own writing.  (It's been said that "Good readers are also good writers.")

Here's How To Make The Hungry Caterpillar Dangler:

Cut lengths of yarn for each child. So they don’t get knotted, fasten them to a paper plate with a bottom and top slit cut out. Lay the yarn between the slits.

Make the eye, nose and antennae templates by cutting out the patterns and tracing them on an old file folder.

Older students can trace and cut out their own pieces, but it really expedites things for little ones, if these are already pre-cut by a room helper.

Run off the body parts on construction paper. To save paper, each child gets one body part. To hang them together simply run a piece of yarn across the back and tape each section to it.

I like the more finished 3D look of giving children two of each body section. To attach, they flip their pieces over and put them in a line with ½ an inch of space between them.

Children rub glue on the back, lay the yarn on top and then glue the other half over it. I wanted the leaf to be 3D, so I only glued half of the leaf together, and let the other half stick out.

To represent a butterfly egg, I fastened a mini white pom pom to the right side of the leaf with a glue dot. I also wanted to make the butterfly 3D, so I folded the wings up on either side of the thorax.

Rub glue on just the thorax area and press the other thorax over it. Fluff the wings and they will look like the butterfly is flying.

Pass out the pieces to the children. They fill in the information and assemble their Story Dangler. Punch a hole in the top of the head and make a yarn loop.

If you want to cover even more standards, have students add another circle or make a heart to tell why they liked or did not like the story, or compare this story to another caterpillar or butterfly story and state which one they liked better.

These look adorable hanging from the ceiling (if you have front and back pieces) or hung in a row on the wall if you used Scotch tape.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Dangler.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

For another Very Hungry Caterpillar activity, scroll down to take a look at the next blog article.

"Garbage in, is garbage out! Pay attention to what you read, listen to, and watch." -Unknown

1-2-3 come Study Butterflies With Me!

One of my very favorite science units was butteflies.  There is so much interesting science involved.

To help you with assessing the life cycle of a butterfly, I made up some anchor chart-posters, as well as traceable butterfly life cycle word cards with matching pictures.

There are several different life cycle charts for the various levels of a student. 

PK kiddos can simply color their poster; older students can color, cut and glue to the matching template or label the blank chart.

Use the traceable word cards on your word wall and/or have students sequence them in the proper order and make an Itty Bitty booklet.

Make several sets of the cards and have students play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?"

Click on the link to view/download the Life Cycle of a Butterfly cards, or the Life Cycle of a Butterfly anchor chart-posters.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"The aim of education should be to teach the child to think, not what to think." -John Dewey

1-2-3 Come Learn About 3D Shapes With Me

One of my Y5's favorite units was on butterflies.

We'd study them for the entire month of April, as we watched real larvae morph into fat caterpillars, spin their chrysallis and finally hatch as lovely Painted Lady Butterflies.

I worked hard at dreaming up butterfly lessons for all of the subjects, incorporating many of my standards.

Designing the 3D Shapes Butterfly book was especially enjoyable.

Because I like to incorporate several standards in every activity, this easy reader reinforces spatial directions, and is an interesting way to review/teach the 3D shapes. 

Students trace the words and shapes, as well as cut out butterflies and place them in the appropriate spatial direction - positions on the pages.

Click on the link to view/download the 3D Butterfly easy reader.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others might find useful.

"Minds are like parachutes.  They only function when they are open." Thomas Dewar

Fluttering By With A Valentine "Hi!"

These waxed-winged beauties are made with wax paper and melted crayon shavings.

They are quick, easy and fun to make and look lovely stuck to a window, so that the sun can shine through, or fluttering across a bulletin board for February.

Here's how to make them:

Run off the body part of the butterfly on a variety of colors of construction paper.

Rough cut them and stack them into color piles so that students can choose their favorite.

While students are working on a tabletop lesson, call them individually to the table.

Students choose a color or colors of crayons that they want to shave.

Students hold the sharpener over a sheet of wax paper big enough to be able to trace 3 hearts on.

You need it larger so that when the shavings melt, they do not run outside of the wax paper.

Make sure the wax paper is on a mini ironing board or a folded towel.

When the child has enough shavings sprinkled around the paper, lay a second piece of wax paper on top.

Using an iron on the lowest setting, slowly melt the shavings. Be careful that the pools do not run off the paper.

Let cool a few seconds and have the child step to the side to trace the heart template onto the wax paper.

Once done, she takes her paper back to her seat and cuts out the hearts and glues them to the back of her butterfly’s thorax.

When they are done, they can bring their butterfly up to you, so that you can give them glue dots for their wiggle eyes and rhinestones that they have picked out.

These look fabulous on a window. Simply put a small piece of folded tape on the thorax and stick.

As a writing extension, children can make another paper heart and write, “Flying by with a Valentine hi.” Or “My heart flutters for you.” 

Click on the link to view/download the Wax Paper Butterfly Valentine.

Thank you for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others may find worthwhile. 

"Writing, the art of communicating thoughts to the mind through the eye, is the great invention of the world...enabling us to converse with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all distances of time and space. " -Abraham Lincoln

1-2-3 Come Eat 100 Things With Me!

I LOVE Eric Carle, especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I can teach all sorts of concepts with that story. 

It's a bit early to be posting butterfly "stuff" that teachers are usually working on in April here in the midwest, however, I thought I'd post it now as I had the caterpillar eating 100 things, that fits in perfect for 100-Day, which some of you still haven't celebrated.

I have 2 different "last" pages for you to choose from: 1 celebrates 100-Day, the other has an ending that fits in nicely no matter what day of the year it is.

I enjoy nailing at least 3-5 Common Core State Standards when I design a lesson.  This one covers quite a few CCSS: RF.K1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K.3a, RL.K.10, RF.K.4, L.K.2a, L.K.2b,L.K.5a, K.OA.1a, K.MD.3 K.CC.1a, K.CC.5, 1.NBT.2c, 1.NBT.5, 1.MD.3

Since the original Very Hungry Caterpillar goes through the days of the week, I decided to have this starving caterpillar eat through the hours in a day, so that I could cover telling time.

 The packet includes

• The Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things easy reader, 
• 2 caterpillar craftivities,
• a food sorting idea,
• + 64 circle pictures of food

Students trace and write numbers & number words, as well as the time, drawing the appropriate hands on the clock. 

They also circle the capital letters and add end punctuation to the simple sentences.  I've used as many sight and Dolch words that I could fit in, that sounded appropriate.

Children cut and glue the groups of 10 pieces of food to their matching numbered boxes, as they count by 10's to 100.

I think you'll find this a fun addition to your day, no matter what you use it for.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things.

 Thank you for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find useful.

Do you have a caterpillar activity you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com, or post a comment here.

"All I have learned, I learned from books." -Abraham Lincoln