Make your own Eric Carle-inspired butterfly
Materials:
- 9 x 12 white construction paper, at least 3 sheets per student
- 12 x 12 white construction paper, 1 sheet per student
- tempera paint – red, yellow, and turquoise
- paper plates
- foam brushes, 1 1/2” wide
- water and water containers
- old (used up!) gift cards, cut in half, with notches added to one edge
- scissors
- “YES! Paste” or Avery permanent glue sticks
Directions:
1. Write your name on the backs of 3 pieces of paper (or however many you want to paint).
2. Use primary colors (red, yellow, and turquoise) to mix large pools of bright colors on paper plates.(Mixed colors are always more interesting than colors straight out of the bottle!)
3. Paint each of your papers with a different color.
4. Before the paint has a chance to dry, drag a notched card across it a few times to create texture.
5. Set papers aside to dry (about 1 1/2 hours should do it).
6. When papers are fully dry, fold one in half and cut on the fold to create the upper wings, fold another in half and cut on the fold to create the lower wings, and fold the last one in half to create the body of your butterfly. Use scraps of other colors (from someone sitting near you) to make the antennae and any spots for the wings.
7. Place your butterfly “parts” onto the 12×12 white paper. Make sure your butterfly is symmetrical!
8. Glue down the largest shapes (wings) first, then the body on top of the wings, and finally the antennae and any spots. (Make sure you apply your glue to the smaller paper and then stick the smaller paper to the larger paper.)
Teacher Lisa proudly displays her finished creation!
Mother-Daughter butterflies…. all teachers!!
Catherine is ready to try this project with her 4th graders! All grade levels get great results with this painted paper!
I wish I could remember who made this beautiful butterfly garden…. was it Arin???
so lovely I know my kids will love this.
Just wanted you to know how appreciated your posts are– I work with kids at a church in the suburbs of Houston and with refugee kids in the inner-city, and we recently used your Eric Carle project as a collaborative project between the two groups of kids. The suburban kids painted paper that the refugee kids cut into butterflies, and then they painted new paper for the suburban kids to make into butterflies. It was a popular, beautiful success! Please keep sharing your great ideas :)
Thanks for your encouraging words, Amanda! I'm glad my ideas have been helpful. I love the collaboration between the two groups of kids – awesome idea!!