In this activity, designed for preschool and school-age children, your child will be able to practice fine motor skills and self expression.
The coloring portion of this activity is great fine motor skills practice and their own unique style will be highlighted as your child decides how to decorate their butterfly.
This activity exercises your child’s creative side which is beneficial to overall development.
When complete, these flutter-ific butterflies provide a cute decoration for any child’s room!
Supplies:
Glass of water
Spoon
Coffee filters
Pipe cleaners
Scissors
Markers
Directions:
Step One: First, prepare your work space! Gather all of your materials and set out a tray for the coffee filters, which will be used later in the activity.
Step Two: Next, pull out two coffee filters and layer them over each other on top of the tray.
Step Three:
Here is where you can use your creativity!
Color a design, of your choice, on the coffee filters.
I decided to color mine red, purple, and green but feel free to create your own unique design!
Step Four: Now, using a spoon, sprinkle a few drops of water all over the coffee filters until the colors start to blend.
Tip: Be sure not to add too much water to the coffee filters, otherwise the coffee filters will rip.
Step Five: Next, wait for the coffee filters to dry for step six! Drying outside in the sun will speed up the process, but you can also leave them indoors overnight to completely dry.
Step Six:
After the coffee filters are dry, separate the two coffee filters and fold them accordion style.
To achieve this style, alternate between folding the sides of the coffee filters.
Tip: Look at the pictures if you need more help visualizing how to fold “accordion style”.
Step 7: Next, time to add the antennae to your butterfly! Wrap the pipe cleaner around the two coffee filters and then twist to make the “body” of your butterfly.
To add the antennae, take the two ends of your pipe cleaner and twist each one around a pen. Feel free to add beads on the antennae to make your butterfly really pop!
Step 8: (Optional) Hang the butterflies in your room for a flutter-tastic decoration!