Spring is in the air and that means it is the perfect time to do some butterfly watching. Butterflies are easy to attract to your garden. You can make butterfly nectar or even plant butterfly bushes. Another way to get butterflies to your yard is with a homemade puddler. If you are a homeschool parent and hoping to incorporate butterflies into your studies, here are some free butterfly unit study resources.
Butterfly Unit Study Resources
Free Butterfly Lesson Plan Ideas:
How to Raise Butterflies to Lay Eggs from Creekside Learning is a great resource for doing an observation in your home of the life cycle of butterflies.
TeacherVision has a great butterfly lesson plan idea page for older kids.
Free Butterfly Lapbooks and Printables:
This Parts of a Butterfly printable from Nature North is a great resource.
Yee Shall Know has a very extensive free Butterfly Lapbook that is filled with great lesson ideas and printables for kids to learn.
Free Butterfly Craft Tutorials:
Try making Butterfly Origami with this tutorial from Create With Me.
If you are into beading, you might enjoy making these Neon Beaded Butterflies from Crafty Morning.
Free Butterfly Videos and Clips:
Check out this clip of a Monarch Emerging from the Chrysalis from Learner.org.
This full length documentary from NOVA, Journey of the Butterflies, shows the migration and life cycle of monarch butterflies.
Additional Butterfly Resources:
Monarch Watch is a great site to learn and watch the monarch butterfly migration.
The Butterfly Website has articles, clip-art, learning activities and more.
The Children's Butterfly Site features photos, printables and teaching tools.
The North American Butterfly Association has FAQ's, information about butterfly gardening and information about butterfly gardens.
Tools for Teaching about Butterflies:
Check out the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden. It allows you to send away for butterfly larvae so you can watch the life cycle.
For a more hands-on butterfly experience, get the Butterfly Bungalow so you can climb inside with your butterflies.
Books About Butterflies:
Butterflies of North America Field Guide by Jim P. Brock
The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Moths by Sally Morgan
National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Butterflies of North America by The National Audubon Society
The Life Cycle of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, A Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies by Judy Burris
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