Butterfly painting
Butterfly painting is an easy and fun activity to do with your kids. Children are excited to see that a few drops of paint can magically be transformed into a beautiful butterfly. It never gets boring to do this exercise over and over as each painting creates a completely different colourful butterfly.
Age
From 3 years and up
What you need
White paper
Paint, in a few different colours
Colour paper
Colour pens
Pipe cleaner
Scissors
Preparation
The kids are not touching the paint with their fingers or using brushes, so it should not create a huge mess. But as you can never be sure what the little ones will do when they see paint, play safe and cover your children’s clothes and the table.
Play
Fold a piece of paper in half and open it again. Put a few drops of paint in different colours in the middle of the paper and fold it over. The kids now have to rub the paper from the fold line out until the paint is all divided.
Then open the paper and watch the children’s faces when the butterfly magically appears!
From the colour paper and colour pens you can create a body and add it to the butterfly. No need to wait until the paint is dry. The wet paint works as a glue and will make the body stick to the paper. A pipe cleaner is a good item to use to create the butterfly’s antennae.
Add-ons for more fun play
If your kids behaved, there should not be a lot to clean up. Whatever there is to clean up, tidy it up together.
Educational
The life cycle of a butterfly is an interesting one as it goes through 4 different stages. The classic and much awarded children’s book ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ explains this process in a humorous way with colourful illustrations. Read it with your kids so they can learn all about the transformation from a caterpillar into a butterfly.
If your kids can’t get enough of ‘butterflies’, make a trip to the butterfly garden. For sure they will get excited by seeing hundreds of free-flying butterflies and observing them.
Age
From 3 years and up
What you need
White paper
Paint, in a few different colours
Colour paper
Colour pens
Pipe cleaner
Scissors
Preparation
The kids are not touching the paint with their fingers or using brushes, so it should not create a huge mess. But as you can never be sure what the little ones will do when they see paint, play safe and cover your children’s clothes and the table.
Play
Fold a piece of paper in half and open it again. Put a few drops of paint in different colours in the middle of the paper and fold it over. The kids now have to rub the paper from the fold line out until the paint is all divided.
Then open the paper and watch the children’s faces when the butterfly magically appears!
From the colour paper and colour pens you can create a body and add it to the butterfly. No need to wait until the paint is dry. The wet paint works as a glue and will make the body stick to the paper. A pipe cleaner is a good item to use to create the butterfly’s antennae.
Add-ons for more fun play
- Cut out the butterfly and glue it onto some thicker paper to make your piece of art a bit sturdier.
- Make a card out of your artwork and sent it to friends and family. Who would not like to receive such a pretty colourful card?
- You can use google eyes to create the butterfly’s eyes.
- Put some glitter onto the wet paint to make the butterfly sparkle.
If your kids behaved, there should not be a lot to clean up. Whatever there is to clean up, tidy it up together.
Educational
The life cycle of a butterfly is an interesting one as it goes through 4 different stages. The classic and much awarded children’s book ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ explains this process in a humorous way with colourful illustrations. Read it with your kids so they can learn all about the transformation from a caterpillar into a butterfly.
If your kids can’t get enough of ‘butterflies’, make a trip to the butterfly garden. For sure they will get excited by seeing hundreds of free-flying butterflies and observing them.