Caterpillar & Butterfly Learning Ideas For Homeschool
Butterfly activities for preschool.
— By Julie Hodos on March 30, 2024; Updated on April 19, 2025.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our disclosure policy.
When is the last time your child helped you experience the world all over again with awe-like wonder? My kiddo’s fascination with bugs does that for me on almost a daily basis. Their sense of wonder and curiosity is contagious and I am admiring God’s creation once again as though I was 3 years old again. Butterflies and caterpillars are definitely one of these bugs that captivate my children and cause me to pause too. That is why I have compiled butterfly activities for preschool age children for you to use with your children today. So you can take them that next step to understanding a little bit more about what God created.
Table of Contents
Books about butterflies.
Butterflies are fascinating, beneficial, diverse, and beautiful creatures. No wonder children are entranced by these intriguing winged bugs. As such, there are many, many books about butterflies. Ranging from their life cycle, to the many species, to a Monarch’s migration habits. The following books are perfect reads to pair with the butterfly activities for preschool ideas.
- Firstly, Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
- Secondly, The Mystery of the Monarchs by Barb Rosenstock
- Bird, Butterfly, Eel by James Prosek
- Lastly, A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston
Preschool mini unit study: Butterflies and caterpillars.
Butterfly activities for preschool #1: Caterpillar and butterfly hunting.
After reading a few of the books about butterflies we were ready to go caterpillar and butterfly hunting. Where we live you can find butterflies most months out of the year so September was a good month for this. The boys mostly chased butterflies while I hunted for caterpillars among the leaves. The boys are not adept enough to catch the butterflies with their nets, and I didn’t have much luck either but the boys were able to observe a caterpillar. I had given up and we were walking back in the woods when Mick spotted one! I was impressed and so happy they actually got to observe a caterpillar.
If you don’t have any luck finding a caterpillar or butterfly, then you can enjoy the rest of the activities. Another option is to buy a butterfly growing kit and guarantee seeing not only the individual stages but the entire process of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. Go here to buy that kit: Butterfly Garden.
Butterfly activities for preschool #2: Play act the life cycle of a butterfly.
In addition to reading a book about the life cycle of a butterfly, we read a poem by Christina Rossetti. Caterpillar from Doubleday’s Favorite Poems: Old and New. Adding poetry to your homeschool is always a win, to learn about the benefits of poetry and how to seamlessly weave it into your homeschool, check this post out here.
After we finished reading we jumped into our play based learning activity. See How to Play Act the Life Cycle of a Butterfly in your home. Marty and Mick absolutely love hiding in their blankets (chrysalis) and flapping about the living room with their wings to find flowers and drink nectar. Mo, my 2 year old, even participated in running around the living room giggling happily. This is one of our favorite playful activities in our homeschool and I think it will be in yours too.
Butterfly activities for preschool #3: Caterpillar life cycle toy and printable.
Marty, my 5 year old is very hands-on and learns best when he’s touching, feeling, and moving so yesterday’s activity was spot on for him. Mick, my 3 year old is much more of a visual learner. Of the butterfly activities for preschool ideas this one was exactly what he needed.
I brought out the manipulative and gave him the printable. You can find the butterfly life cycle toys here. The kiddos played with the life cycle toys together for at least 20 minutes at the table.
Butterfly activities for preschool #4: Butterfly coffee filter art.
Lastly, the butterfly coffee filter craft is a great way to learn about migration. After completing, you can take your child through a migration lesson. For further instructions on how to make this craft and how to teach about migration, check out this post, How to make coffee filter butterflies.
Learning about butterflies and caterpillars through play based learning.
Overall, learning about butterflies and caterpillars should be playful and intriguing. Just like the little bugs we’re learning about are. Each activity will lead your child on an adventure to learn something new about butterflies. Whether it’s about their life cycle or migration habits. Let me know in the comments what you think of these activities and if you’ll be trying them out with your kiddo.
Also, all these activities and more are a part of Cc is for Caterpillar. Learn more about this exciting homeschool preschool program below.
What is Cc is for Caterpillar?
Cc is for Caterpillar is a free homeschool preschool curriculum. It offers activity suggestions that center around caterpillars, butterflies, and their life cycles. Additionally, there are a few books that will emphasize the transformation a caterpillar undergoes to become a butterfly. While others speak about migration. You’ll also find coloring pages to reinforce your child’s recognition of the letter C.
If you have not downloaded Cc is for Caterpillar yet, I encourage you to check it out and then consider using it with your kiddos. It is entirely free! There are activity ideas, a printable, coloring pages, and book suggestions.
Additionally, Cc is for Caterpillar is a part of a larger program, Letter of the Week. Each week is similar in style but completely different in theme and activities. I hope you’ll check it out because the entire thing is free and play based.
Recent posts on the homeschool blog.
