* Paint small rocks to look like ladybugs or other bugs. Use pipe
cleaners for legs on spiders, overhead transparencies or sheet
protectors for wings, tiny beads for big bug-eyes. Put a small piece of
magnetic strip on the back if desired.

* BUTTERFLIES

Shave old crayons and place between a sheet of waxed paper on
newspaper...cover with another piece of waxed paper...press iron for a
few seconds, cut into butterfly shape and hang in front of window.

* CATERPILLARS

Cut out circles on different colored construction paper. Past circles
side by side slighty overlapping. Add legs and feelers from pipe
cleaners...draw on a face.

* INKBLOT BUTTERFLY

Cut out a butterfly shape fold it in the center, have the children
paint on side. Fold and rub lightly, then unfold. The sides will be
identical.

* Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar


Fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar in the garden creeps He spins himself a blanket
and soon falls fast asleep. Fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar wakes up by and by
To find he has wings of beauty, changed to a butterfly

* Pretty Little Butterfly


Pretty little butterfly, what do you do all day? I fly around the
flowerpots, nothin' to do but play. Nothin' to do but play, darlin',
nothin' to do but play. So fly butterfly, fly butterfly, don't waste
your time away.

* The Bee Hive


Here is the bee hive Where are the bees? Hidden away where nobody sees.

Soon they come creeping Out of the hive One and two and three, four five

* A great caterpillar project: 

After reading Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (several times) 
I have them make butterflys out of clothespins and tissue paper. 
Add pipe cleaner antaneas 
Give them each a toilet paper empty roll and have them wrap brown yarn 
around it several times. 
Tuck the butterfly into the tp roll - Wah la - A cocoon
with a butterfly inside.

* Fingerprint Honeybees

Press your index finger on an inked stamp pad.  Then press on a sheet
of white paper.  Make several fingerprints across the paper.  With a
fine felt-tipped marker, add wings, antennae and legs to your
creations.  Other bugs can also be made with fingerprints.

* Ladybug

Show the children a picture of a ladybug.  Emphasize that the ladybug
helps farmers by eating insects that may hurt our fruits and vegetables.

Have the children repeat and act out the following rhyme.  Begin by
asking the children to stand several feet from one another.

Ladybug, ladybug, (move fingers) Let me see your crawl, (crawl slowly
on all fours) Hurry after those harmful bugs (move quickly on all
fours) But be careful, do not fall! (fall over)

Repeat this rhyme several times.

* I have a spider activity that my dcks enjoyed.  Give kids a black or
blue sheet of construction paper and a white crayon.  They make a "web"
on the paper.  I found  some spider stickers at Wal-Mart.  They put
those in the center of the web.

* Feet Butterflies

have children take off shoes, dip feet into shallow pan of pastel
apint.  Step onto a piece of paper so feet are going outward from the
heels together.  When dry, add antenna with markers.

* Insects

caterpillars
cut out circles of colored construction paper.  paste circles together
side by side slightly
overlapping.  Add legs and feelers from pipe cleaners...draw on a face.

pom-pom caterpillars
glue three middle size pom poms together.  paste on eyes and feelers. 
for fun you can put
magnetic tape on back for magnet.

wax paper butterflies
shave crayons and place between a sheet of wax paper on news paper. 
cover with another
piece of wax paper.  press iron for a few seconds, cut into butterfly
shape.

fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar
fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar in the garden creeps He spins himself a blanket
and soon falls fast
asleep.  fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar wakes up by and by to find he has
wings of beauty,
changed to a butterfly.

pretty little butterfly
pretty little butterfly, what do you do all day ?  I fly around the
flowerpots nothin' to do
but play.  nothin' to do but play. darlin', nothin' to do but play.  so
fly butterfly, fly
butterfly don't waste you time away.  

the bee hive

Here is the bee hive where are the bees ?  Hidden away where nobody
sees.   Soon they
come creeping out of the hive one and two and tree, four five.

These were sent through the sharing group not by me.

For Insects I purchased from Lakeshore the following:  The butterfly
nursery.  Children
get to watch the making of a miracle with the butterfly nursery.  they
watch as caterpillars
grow.  spin silk and form chrysalides.. then emerges the beautiful
butterfly.  then we let
them go we do this every year when school gets out so the older
children get in on it to. it
cost $29.95 you can use it year after year.

we also have from lakeshore the giant ant farm cost $19.95.  It is made
of unbreakable
plastic the children are absolutely fascinated by this one. comes with
everything you need.

Frog hatchery kit-  $26.95   need i say more.

ladybug farm- $24.95 everything you need kids love this also.

I use all the above and we also have the see inside incubator we hatch
chicks.  I do the
insects because some children are frighten by them and this way they
get to experience and
be close if they want to the insects and realize they help our earth
and will not hurt us.  

I also to go with my unit purchase large insect puppets from folkmanis.
  they puppets stay
here but I also purchase finger puppets for the children from them
also.  these the children
get to keep.  ^They are about 6 for 12.00.

* Butterfly Project: Take coffee filters and have children use eye
droppers to place on various food coloring diluted. Let dry. Squeeze in
center add twist tie to hold. Take pipe cleaner for body and antennae.
May add wiggle eyes. I sometimes separate sections with rubber bands to
get different effects and let them dip while holding with clothes pin
(messy). This can also be adapted by grabbing dried filter in middle
and twist as a flower. We add green stem and place in wall paper
patterened pot for big Mothers Day card. They really look pretty. The
best effects are made with little droppers and sections.

* * We just finished our insect unit.  One thing my children (4,5 and 6
yr. olds) really enjoyed was the butterfly project.  It is a four day
project, but you only do a little bit each day.  It is to show the
children how the life cycle of the butterfly.

Day 1: cut out large leaves from green paper, glue puffed rice on for
"butterfly eggs"
Day 2: make egg carton caterpillars.  Use three sections of egg
carton for the body, poke holes for pipe cleaner legs and antennae
(sometimes children need help with this), decorate with paint and
wiggly eyes.
Day 3: wrap caterpillars in toilet paper for the chrysalis
Day 4:  make butterfly wings by cutting wings from paper, folding in
half, dropping paint (we used eye droppers) on one side, then opening up to get
 symetrical pattern.  When dry, tape to caterpillar body with 2" wide scotch tape
(so wings will stay on as children fly them)

We were also lucky to have a parent who is an entomologist, who
brought in some millipedes, a giant cockraoch and a tarantula, as
well as some bug nets so we could catch our own bugs, and microscopes
to examine our finds.  But even if you have to do it all yourself,
many toy and hobby stores sell bug nets or bug boxes, and you can
look at your specimens under a magnifying glass.

If you can get tapes of Magic School Bus Gets Ants in its Pants, or
Reading Rainbow "BUGS" or "Honeybee", our children really enjoyed
these videos (we just taped them off public TV.)

Our children are also fascinated by fact books about insects - there
are a lot of good ones out there.  They also enjoy songs like "The
Ants are Marching one by one", "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee",
or "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

*  We are doing a unit this summer of Butterflies
 craft
 Butterfly crowns
 you will need
 construction paper
 scissors
 clear contact paper or wax paper, glue
 yard or ribbon approximately 6 inches long two per crown
 stapler
 
 fold a 8 1/2 x 11 -inch piece of construction paper  in half from top to
bottom and cut out the shape of a butterfly.
 
 cut out the center of the wings on both sides to make frames.
 
 cut clear contact paper or wax paper with clue to cover the hole in each
wing.
 now you have sticky space for a wing .  Give the children colored tissue
paper to put on the sticky part.
 
 make headbands by folding an 8 1/2 x 11 -inch piece of paper two or three
times
  lengthwise to make a one inch band.  
 
 glue the butterfly to the headband.  poke holes at each end tie yard at each
end so you have a string to tie the butterfly crown on the child's head.
 
 
 Butterfly hopscotch
 Purchase butterfly stickers.  Draw hopscotch on the sidewalk or floor.  Each
player needs a pebble to toss.
 The players take turns tossing his/her pebble into the squares.  The child
is to try to name the stage of the butterfly on the picture or kind of
butterfly his/her pebble has landed on.  He goes until he cannot name what
his pebble has landed on.  then he will wait in the "butterfly wing" for
his/her next turn.
 
 
 paper chain butterflies
 give each child stripes of construction paper  glue to form a circle. then
glue the circles together.  add antennae and eyes/
 
 butterfly feet
 cut out a black body for the butterfly.  trace both of the children's feet.
 This is your butterflies wings.  decorated as you would like.  glue to body.
 
 music
 "Lady Monarch"
 Lady Monarch made  a hat
 of flowers, leaves and spring things,
 Went to town to show it off
 But she forgot her earrings.
 Lady Monarch cried and wept,
 She was  very sad,
 Then two bees lit on her hears,
 So she was very glad.
 sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle"
 
 Show the children the life cycle of the Butterfly
 
 Many insects go through four stages of development, but the butterfly
experiences the most dramatic change.  This change is called metamorphosis
 .
 first stage-egg  The adult butterfly lays tiny eggs on a leaf. the egg is
the beginning of the butterfly's life.
 
 second stage-larva stage:the caterpillar hatched from the egg.  The young
caterpillar is so hungry it even eats the shell it is born from.
 
 third stage-pupa-the caterpillar hangs from a branch and turns into a
chrysalis. The caterpillar begins to change again inside the chrysalis
 .
 fourth stage-adult-soon the chrysalis breaks open.  Out comes a butterfly !
 
 
 Butterfly Migration
 Explain to  children that monarch butterflies fly to warm climates in the
fall to escape the cold.  This is called migration.  ask the children to name
other animals that change their habits in cold weather or animals that
migrate.  
 
 Poem
 Look ! I'm a Butterfly !
 
 I spin and spin my crysalis
 then go to rest inside.
 When I come out,
 I've changed indeed...
 Look ! I'm a butterfly.
 
 
 
 books
 The very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
 Monarch Butterflies and Moths by Still, John
 Amazing Butterflies and moths by Lavies, Bianca
 
 
 
 BUTTERFLY OR MOTH
 
 butterfly:
 spins a chrysalis
 Has a straight antennae with  knobby ends
 Is awake during the day and asleep at night
 Rests with its wings straight up.
 
 
 Moth
 spins a cocoon
 has feathery antennae without knobs
 Is asleep during the day and comes out at night
  Rest with its wings flat.