Eric Carle Butterfly Art and Activities

Eric Carle is definitely a favorite in our class and we absolutely had so much fun creating our “beautiful butterfly” (as Eric Carle would say at the end of the book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”).

The book that inspired us was, yup you guessed it, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.This book is about a caterpillar that is very hungry and eats a sequence of food that helps lead him to metamorphosize into a beautiful butterfly. The illustration is amazing and the story line is fun to read! Not only are children learning about butterflies, but the way Eric Carle creates his illustration is remarkable.

A little “behind the scene” for you before you create your own butterflies is that Eric Carle’s Artwork is created by using a collage technique. He uses hand painted papers, which he cuts, and layers to create the different vibrant colors that you see in his collection of books.

On to the fun part!

To create your butterfly you will need:
– Tissue Paper
– Butterfly Template (drawn or printed)
– Paint
– Glitter
– Glue (we used modge podge)
– Paint Brush

First Step:
Pick a variety of color tissue paper and then start painting different shapes, colors, and designs onto the tissue paper. Be gentle onto the paper because it rips fairly easy.Second Step:
Sprinkle your glitter onto the wet paint. We had a mixture of colors into a salt shaker for easy pour, but pinching the glitter and spreading onto the wet paint will work just fine!

Third Step:
Once you see that the paint is dry, you can begin to cut squares. This is a great opportunity to spruce up your child’s cutting skills!

Fourth Step:
Using your paintbrush and glue, start gluing your painted tissue paper on to your butterfly template. Make sure to cover up all the paper. It looks wonderful when the tissue paper is layered!Fifth Step:
Once it is dry, cut your template out and TADA! Your beautiful butterfly is finished!Here are a couple of fun butterfly related activities that were placed out in our centers during this unit. Feed The Hungry CaterpillarThis was a total hit in our class, even weeks later it is still a hit! This caterpillar is made out of a Lysol wipes container glued with paper and a caterpillar painted on it. For the mouth, it was cut with a box knife. Pipe cleaners were added as the tentacles on top of the caterpillar’s head. To ensure durability, we glued the pipe cleaners down with tacky glue!

In the book, there is a sequence of what the butterfly eats. Here, in this activity you will see that the wood chips have each food that correlates to what the caterpillar ate, along with the sequence from the book that was printed out from google and copy and pasted the photo onto Microsoft word. Make sure to print two, one for the wood chips and one for a reference for the children. The pictures are cut out and modge podged is used to secure it. A little modge podge paint underneath and on top will go a long way! Click here for the Hungry Caterpillar food!

This activity is a simple activity that can keep children busy for a long period of time! There are many skills that they can learn from this. Sequencing, counting, fine motor, and retelling stories.Stages Of A Butterfly SortingIn the beginning of this unit we talked about the stages of a butterfly. This activity helped children understand the sequence of the stages, fine motor skills, and one to one correspondence. Check out how “Fun A Day” blog to see how to create this activity. Click here for the activity!

Hope you enjoyed this blog! If you end up creating any of these activities, make sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram! @carmelmountainpreschool

Hope you enjoyed this blog! If you end up creating any of these activities, make sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram! @carmelmountainpreschool