Families Program - Butterfly Voyage / Viaje
de las mariposas
Books to Share
Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood
Good Night Sweet Butterflies / Buenas noches, maripositas by Dawn Bentley and Heather Cahoon
My, Oh My – A Butterfly!: All About Butterflies by Tish Dale
The Very Hungry Caterpillar / La oruga muy hambriente by Eric Carle
Books to Show or Booktalk
Butterflies on Carmen Street / Mariposas en la calle Carmen by Monica Brown
Butterfly: See How They Grow by DK Publishing
Fancy Nancy: A Flutter of Butterflies by Jane O’Conner
Isabel’s House of Butterflies by Tony Johnston
La mariposa by Francisco Jimenez
Bulletin Board
The Migration of Butterflies / La migración de mariposas
Cover the bulletin board with yellow butcher paper. Cut out the words “The Migration of Butterflies” in black construction paper. Affix a U.S. map to the center of the bulletin board. Cut butterflies onto white cardstock from Ellison dies. Decorate the butterflies with markers and glitter to resemble Monarch butterflies. Paste them on the U.S. map to point out the migration patterns of the Monarch Butterflies. A map of the Monarch Butterfly migration is at http://monarch-butterfly.info/Maps.html.
Nametag
Butterfly / Mariposa
Cut the butterfly template provided at the end of this program onto white cardstock paper. Let children decorate their butterflies with crayons and glitter.
Displays
Regional Butterflies / Mariposas de la región
Invite a local birding center or butterfly garden to set up a table with brochures, posters, and information on regional butterflies.
Decorations
Create coffee filter butterflies using the directions at http://crafts.kaboose.com/butterfly1.html. Hang them around the library to create a simple butterfly garden.
Refreshments
Serve “Butterfly Nectar” (orange juice with pulp) and raisins.
Incentives
Give each child a butterfly sticker.
Costumes and Props
Dress up as a fairy with wings from a local costume shop and a flower tiara/headpiece.
Fingerplays
La pequeña mariposa
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
Pequeñita mariposa
voló alrededor de esta sala.
Ella te vio a tí
ella me vio a mí
sin alas
y descubrió, por extraño que parezca,
¡no podemos volar!
Little Bitty Butterfly
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
Little bitty butterfly
flew around this room.
She saw you
she saw me
without any wings
and discovered, oddly enough,
you and I can’t fly!
Songs
“Monarch Butterfly” in Songs About Insects, Bugs & Squiggly Things by Kimbo Educational
Dance and Movement Songs
Dancing Butterfly
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
The north winds
head southwards
as winds swirl around her,
with her beautiful wings
gliding high above
as she dances
in the air,
swirling round and round.
Mariposa, Mariposa
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
Mariposa, mariposa
how pretty you are
with wings of many colors
and journeys far away.
Mariposa, mariposa
que bonita you are
as you fly into the blue skies
and onto another place.
Action Rhymes
Ten Little Butterflies
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
One little butterfly
flies into the sky,
while another one
sails further up high.
A third butterfly lands
on a beautiful red rose,
while another one settles
into a purplish bloom.
A fifth butterfly
rests in the beams of sunshine,
while another one basks
in the shades of summertime.
A seventh butterfly
lands right on my nose,
while another one
escapes my curious gaze.
A ninth butterfly
flies into a warm summer sky,
while a tenth butterfly
sails past me, out of my sight.
Rhymes and Poetry
Texan Butterfly
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
I am like a Texan butterfly
as I gleam in the light
of a sparkling sunshine.
My arms raised
in the pose of flying wings
as I let my imagination
flower with the thoughts
of soaring.
Into the skies
of a warm summer day,
I will land on sweet cactus
and sway every way.
I will linger
on bluebonnet blooms,
dance on amadillo backs,
but most important of all,
I will dream of
flying high.
Reader’s Theater
Butterfly Rainbow
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
Characters
- Narrator 1
- Narrator 2
Narrator 1: Here in Texas, in the summer time, we have tons and tons of butterflies swarming the warm skies.
Narrator 2:Some of them are tiny and some of them are huge.
Narrator 1:Some are beautiful.
Narrator 2:And some are pretty ugly.
Narrator 1: Butterflies can fly real, real high!
Narrator 2:But they can also fly real, real low.
Narrator 1:They come in all colors.
Narrator 2:Sometimes blue or black…
Narrator 1:or red and green…
Narrator 2:or pink and gray…
Narrator 1:or brown and gold…
Narrator 2:or yellow and orange…
Narrator 1:or white and purple…
Narrator 2:or blue and peach!
Narrator 1 and Narrator 2:Butterflies, they come in all shapes and sizes, just like me and you!
Puppet Plays
Butterflies Fly
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez. In this play, Little Girl is reciting the poem as the butterfly flies in the background. The butterfly follows the motions mentioned.)
Puppets
- Butterfly
- Little Girl
Props
- Flowers
- Sky
Setting
- Garden
Little Girl: (Pops up into scene, just before the butterfly does)
Beautiful and colorful butterfly, so high up in the sky.
You fly in circles, little and small
Making me dizzy all around.
When I dance, you dance
In circles around
Because beautiful rhythm you have,
Dear colorful butterfly
Circling around, around, and around.
Twinkle, twinkle little stars
Shine up above at night,
But here you are in broad daylight
And like a rainbow in the sky.
When hungry you are
You feed on flowers
As colorful and bright as you,
From goldenrods to blazing stars,
There are endless selections of blooming flowers to choose from.
Little, little butterfly
As you swirl at my eyesight,
Dizzy I get as I wonder just yet
How you don’t get dizzy at all!
Do you glide at night
As birds glide mid-flight,
Or do your wings flutter always?
Beautiful and colorful butterfly, so high up in the sky.
You fly in circles, little and small
Making me dizzy all around.
When I dance, you dance
In circles around
Because beautiful rhythm you have,
Dear colorful butterfly
Circling around, around, and around.
Vuelan las mariposas
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez. In this play, Muchachita is reciting poem as the Mariposa flies in the background. The Mariposa follows the motions mentioned.)
Puppets
- Mariposa
- Muchachita
Props
- Flowers
- Sky
Setting
- Garden
Muchacha:(Hace estallar para arriba en escena, momentos antes que lo hace la mariposa)
Mariposa hermosa de colores, tan alta por el cielo.
Usted vuela en círculos, pequeños y grandes
Mareándome cuando por vista te sigo.
Cuando bailo, usted baila
en círculos alrededor
porque ritmo hermoso tiene usted,
la estimada mariposa colorida
que circunda alrededor, alrededor, y alrededor.
Estrellitas, estrellitas que brillan en el cielo
Toda la noche brillan,
pero aq
uí usted está
en amplia luz del día
Casi como un arco iris en el cielo.
Cuando estás hambriente usted
Encuentra alimentación en las flores
tan coloridas y brillantes como usted,
de Vara de Oro a las Estrellas Ardientes,
allí es sin fin
las selecciones de flores
Que existen en todo el mundo.
¡Pequeña, pequeña mariposa
como usted remolina en mi vista,
Mareándome cuando por vista te sigo
Y piense en
cómo usted no marea con tantas vueltas!
¿Usted se desliza en la noche
como los pájaros deslizan mediados de-vuelo,
o sus alas agitan siempre?
Mariposa hermosa de colores, tan alta por el cielo.
Usted vuela en círculos, pequeños y grandes
Mareándome cuando por vista te sigo.
Cuando bailo, usted baila
en círculos alrededor
porque ritmo hermoso tiene usted,
la estimada mariposa colorida
que circunda alrededor, alrededor, y alrededor.
Tongue Twister
Betty the Beautiful Butterfly
(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)
Betty the beautiful butterfly flies into beautiful bold beyonds.
Crafts
Butterfly
Create a butterfly paper plate craft by following the instructions at http://mamabearscubhouse.com/2009/06/12/butterfly-craft.aspx?ref=rss.
Games and Activities
Butterfly Nectar Relay / Carrera de mariposas
Provide each child with a prepackaged juice box with individual straws. Let children place straws into juice box. Then the children place their hands behind their backs, close their eyes, and try to drink the juice as fast as they can.
Guest Speakers
Invite a staff member from a local nursery or nature center to talk to the children.
DVDs/Films
Barbie Mariposa and her Butterfly Friends (75 minutes)
Magic School Bus: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs (88 minutes)
Web Sites
The Children’s Butterfly Site
http://kidsbutterfly.org/
Learn about the butterfly life cycle, browse galleries of photos, and find coloring pages.
Professional Resources
Coffee Filter Butterflies
http://crafts.kaboose.com/butterfly1.html
This Kaboose link provides directions on how to create a butterfly craft out of coffee filters.
University of Minnesota Monarch Lab
http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu/
The University of Minnesota shares this free online site with resources for educators.
Butterfly Nametag
Print out this pdf file of the Butterfly nametag and cut to use as a nametag.