21 Fun Butterfly Crafts For Preschoolers

If you are looking for butterfly crafts for preschoolers, a wide variety of craft ideas are available that are sure to keep your children engaged.

Children love butterflies, but they may fly away no matter how much they try to catch them. So, if the sight of a butterfly gets your preschooler excited, why not help them make one? If they enjoy art and craft activities, they will love the process and the result too.

Below is a list of the best butterfly-making crafts you can make with your toddler. You can also spend quality time and have fun trying these out together.

1. Leaves butterfly craft

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Simple oval shaped leaves
• A hairpin
• White paper
• Black sketch pen
• Glue

How to:

1. Use the hairpin as the body of the butterfly, and stick four leaves around the hairpin. The leaves represent the wings of the insect.
2. Paste the creation on a white paper.
3. Draw the antennae and limbs using a black sketch pen. You can also help the toddler add some color or paste a background around the butterfly to make it is an interesting butterfly preschool art.

2. Beaded butterfly craft

You will need:

• Craft wire
• Colorful beads
• Thread

How to:

1. Guide the preschooler to thread colorful beads into the craft wire. Leave some space at the ends.
2. Twist and turn the craft wire to give it a butterfly shape. Help your kid turn the ends of craft wire to secure the form.
3. Tie the beaded butterfly onto a thread and your toddler can proudly hang the creation in his room.

3. Hand print butterfly

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• White chart paper
• Non-toxic poster paint set
• Large color palette
• Sketch pens

How to:

1. Pour the color into a palette and let the toddler smear his entire palm with the color.
2. Print a hand impression on the chart paper – two for each wing and with different colors.
3. Use the sketch pen to make the central body of the butterfly and this easy butterfly craft for a preschooler is ready.

4. Clay butterfly

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Non-toxic activity clay

How to:

1. Roll some clay into a large cylinder to create the butterfly’s body.
2. For the eyes, make a small, flat circle of white clay and put a tiny piece of black clay on it. Attach it to the front of the cylindrical body.
3. Take clay of multiple colors and roll them between the hands to form thick, long strand.
4. Curl the strand and place it around the body to form the wings of the butterfly.

5. Colorful cellophane butterfly

You will need:

• Colored cellophane sheets
• Rounded tip scissors
• Black sketch pen
• Glitter glue

How to:

1. Draw the outline of a butterfly on the various cellophane colored paper using the black sketch pen.
2. Cut out their outlines.
3. Cut a large piece of cellophane into a circle. Paste the cellophane butterflies on the circle using glitter glue. Pass a thread from the top and use this butterfly toddler craft to decorate your little one’s room.

6. Felt butterflies

Image: IStock

You will need:

• Two small pieces of felt fabric
• Fabric glue
• Round tip scissor

How to:

1. Cut the fabric into a cylindrical for the center of the butterfly’s body and cut another fabric for wings.
2. Paste the wings on the butterfly’s body using fabric glue.
3. Cut small circles from other pieces of felt to decorate the butterfly’s wings.

7. Cloth clips butterfly

Image: IStock

You will need:

• Colorful cloth clips
• Chart paper
• Sketch pens
• Round tip scissors
• Woolen strand
• Small wiggle eyes
• Glue

How to:

1. Draw the outline of butterfly wings on the chart paper, color them, and then cut them out.
2. Use glue to stick the wings to the cloth clips of different colors.
3. Paste the wiggle eyes on the clips and attach wool strands in front (as per the image).

8. Fruit and vegetable butterfly

Image: IStock

You will need:

• Carrot
• Orange
• Grapes
• Lettuce or cabbage

How to:

1. Put a carrot at the center of a dish/plate. It forms the butterfly’s body.
2. Cut two round slices of orange and place them at the top of the carrot. Cut a grape in half and put it in the middle of the orange slices. It forms the eyes of the butterfly.
3. Arrange the lettuce or cabbage pieces around the carrot in a manner that they resemble wings. Peel a little carrot off to use as antennae.

9. Filter and butter paper butterfly

You will need:

• Filter paper
• Butter paper/tracing paper
• Round tip scissors
• Sketch pens
• Water colors
• Glue

How to:

1. Mix different water colors separately and dip a filter paper in each color. Leave the filter paper to dry completely.
2. Trace the outline of butterfly wings on butter paper and cut them. Colour the wings using a sketch pen.
3. Cut the body of the butterfly from the dry filter paper. Stick the butter paper wings and the butterfly art activity for preschooler is complete.

10. Candy butterfly:

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Long candy stick
• Chewy candy sticks
• Individual candies of various colors

How to:

1. Put a long candy stick in the middle of a plate or dish. Cut small pieces of candy sticks from another candy. These would be used as antennae.
2. Roll some candy sticks and place four of them adjacent to the long candy stick. The rolled candy acts as the wings of the butterfly, and the enticing butterfly art is complete.

11. Wooden butterfly

You will need:

• Wood shavings
• White chart paper
• Glue

How to:

1. Draw a light outline of a butterfly on white chart.
2. Take the wood shavings and stick each of them within the outline using glue.
3. Continue sticking till you complete the entire butterfly including the tail and antennae.

12. Floral butterfly

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• Flower with petals, stalk, and pollen
• White chart paper
• Glue
• Pencil

How to:

1. For this preschool butterfly craft, flowers are the main component. Pluck the petals and separate the pollen. Retain the stalk of the flower.
2. Paste the flower stalk on the white chart paper. On either side, stick two petals that depict the wings of the butterfly.
3. Glue the pollen on top of the stalk for the antennae, and it is done.

13. Butterflies with text and images

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• White chart paper
• Round tip scissors
• Colour pencils
• String

How to:

1. Let the little one fill the chart paper with doodles, or shapes and letters. You can also use old magazines or newspapers for this activity.
2. Mark the outline of the butterfly on the paper and cut it out.
3. Attach a string to it to hang these butterfly art.

14. Pencil butterfly

• Water paints
• Paint brush
• Cardboard
• Round tip scissors
• Pencil
• Wiggle eyes
• Glue

How to:

1. Mark the outline of a butterfly on a piece of cardboard and cut it out.
2. Fold the butterfly in the middle to resemble the body. Mark a point with a pencil at the center of the fold and make two slits on either side of the point. Gently cut the section of the cardboard between the slits to make a groove that will hold the pencil.
3. Colour the cardboard butterfly using water colors
4. Once the paint dries, pass the pencil through the groove. Stick the wiggle eyes on top of the pencil, and the butterfly craft is complete.

15. Folded butterfly cutout

Image: IStock

You will need:

• White chart paper
• Round tip scissors
• Pencil

How to:

1. Cut a small square or rectangle-shaped section of the chart paper. Draw the outline of a butterfly on it, but only one half of the insect.
2. Cut along the outline and fold it gently. You now have a lovely art where one half of the butterfly is a cutout and the other half is a stencil.
3. You can stick a piece of colored paper to the empty half to make it more attractive.

  [ Read: Spider Crafts For Preschoolers ]

16. Butterfly in layers

Image: IStock

You will need:

• Felt fabric of various colors
• Round tip scissors
• Small beads
• Glue

How to:

1. Cut pieces of felt into butterfly shapes with each cut out smaller than the other.
2. Place the largest butterfly at the bottom, as a base. Keep gluing a butterfly of descending size on top of another.
3. Stick some beads on the uppermost butterfly for decoration.

17. Fabric ribbon butterflies

You will need:

• Mesh-like fabric ribbon of various colors
• Colorful strands of wool
• Wiggle eyes and buttons
• Fabric glue
• Round tip scissors

How to:

1. Cut about two-inch ribbon pieces and wrap them at the center with small woolen strands.
2. Tie two pieces of wrapped ribbons using yarn. Spread the ribbons to represent a pair of wings.
3. Decorate the ribbons by sticking wiggle eyes and buttons. You couldSstick all the butterflies on an uncut fabric ribbon and hang it for decoration.

18. Butterfly switch

• Glitter ribbon
• Felt fabric
• Glitter paint
• Round tip scissors
• Glue

How to:

1. Cut the felt fabric into butterfly wing shapes. Use glitter paint to decorate them.
2. Trim the glitter ribbon into small strands and roll each strand into a small disc.
3. Look for a perfect light switch, preferably an individual one. Paste the wings on either side of the switch and stick two to three ribbon discs on top and bottom of the switch.
4. Add some wiggle eyes on top of the butterfly’s body. Also, cut thin pieces of ribbon and paste the antennae.

19. Ice cream stick butterfly:

• Wooden ice cream sticks
• Colorful chart paper
• Wiggle eyes
• Sketch pens
• Round tip scissors
• Glue

How to:

1. Cut a piece of chart paper in the shape of a butterfly.
2. Carve out designs of any choice from the chart papers and paste them all together on butterfly wing.
3. Glue the wings to the ice cream stick. Stick wiggle eyes on top of the stick or use a sketch pen to decorate the stick. Add some strand of ribbons ae antennae.

20. Paper cup butterfly

• Paper cups
• Non-toxic acrylic paints
• Paint brush
• Chart paper
• Wiggle eyes
• Glue
• Round tip scissors
• Fluffy ribbon strands

How to:

1. Paint the paper cup using one or more acrylic paints.
2. Cut wing-shaped pieces of chart paper and paint them.
3. Stick the wings to the paper cup. Add wiggle eyes and draw a smile on the painted paper cup. Paste two strands of ribbon on top for antennae and the lovely butterfly craft is complete.

 21. Butterfly life cycle

You will need:

• Paper plate
• Chart paper of different colors (including white)
• Sketch pens
• Non-toxic acrylic paints
• Cotton balls
• Strands of wool
• Round tip scissors
• Glue

How to:

1. This craftdepicts the life cycle or metamorphosis of the butterfly.
2. Draw a circle on a white chart paper and divide it into four quadrants. Label the first left quadrant ‘Eggs’. The top right, bottom right, and bottom left should be labeled ‘caterpillar’, ‘chrysalis’, and ‘butterfly’, respectively.
3. Paint the paper plate with a color of your choice. Cut the labeled circle from the chart paper and paste it at the center of the paper plate.
4. Draw and cut out a leaf from the chart paper. Color it green and draw the leaf veins using sketch pen. Paste it on the quadrant labeled ‘eggs’. Take some cotton balls and stick them together in a cluster on top of the leaf to represent eggs.
5. Intertwine three strands of wool, twist them around, and paste them in the ‘caterpillar’ quadrant.
6. Glue a brown strand of yarn vertically in the ‘chrysalis;’ section. Roll a piece of green chart paper and paste it next to the woolen strand.
7. Time for the ‘butterfly’ section. Stick a strand of wool with a loop at the center of the quadrant. Pass two pieces of chart papers through the loop. Press the loop and paste the strand and chart paper together. Spread out the chart paper to make it look like butterfly wings.
8. Give some finishing touches with a dash of color and this butterfly life cycle activity for preschoolers is complete.

Did you ever imagine that butterflies could be created in so many ways? Your little one can get the most out of each activity if you as parents follow some simple guidelines.

Three Tips For Parents

1. Observe parental guidance: Art and craft activities employ the use glue and scissors. This means that you must be around the child to supervise him at all times. Before the preschooler uses a pair of scissors, show him the correct way to hold and use them. Always use small round-tip scissors that do not have a sharp pointed tip. Also, when using glue, tell your toddler dos and don’ts so that he does not ingest any glue.

2. Maintain activity schedule: Prevent boredom by maintaining an activity schedule with the preschooler. Give adequate gap between two activities so that it does not become monotonous for the toddler.

3. Let the toddler take the lead: Art and craft is a good way to let a toddler exercise his imagination. Let the little one make his choice for the color and other elements that go into making the art. This will involve the preschooler more.

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Harshita MakvanaB.Com, PG Dip

Harshita is a graduate in commerce and holds a PG Diploma in Patent and Copyrights Law from NALSAR University. She has also pursued CA and has more than three years of internship experience in auditing. Her love for travelling has taken her to various parts of the world, and writing the travelogues was what brought out her love for content writing.

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