Making giant butterfly eggs out of clay or play dough is an educational experience that allows children to learn about shapes. Search online for printouts of eggs of different species of butterflies such as Painted Lady and Monarch butterfly. Use the printouts to talk about the eggs. Some eggs are round; others are shaped like barrels or are flat like pancakes. The color of the eggs vary: some are red, green, blue, yellow, white or brown. Use several different colors and encourage children to make a couple of butterfly eggs in different shapes.
Puzzles are exciting and making your own egg puzzle is an activity that promotes understanding about different ways that a butterfly lays eggs. Some butterflies put a single egg on a leaf, while others put several hundred eggs on a leaf. Use white poster board and let children draw one big egg or several smaller eggs. Tell them to color in the eggs. Use an exacto knife to cut out the pictures on the poster board. Large squiggly shapes are suitable for the youngest preschoolers.
Draw a leaf or use a leaf template printout. Print out leaf shapes on a white paper, one for each child. Make the leaf approximately 10 inches. Tell the children to color in the leaf using pencils or crayons. Ask them to cut out small pieces of tissue paper in various colors such as red, blue and yellow. Next, ask them to glue the little eggs inside the leaf. Encourage them to place the eggs next to each other like mosaics.
Let children draw and color in a butterfly, approximately five inches. Alternatively, use a template and print out butterfly shapes for the children to color in. Cut out the butterfly shape. Use green poster board and glue beads on to the poster board with thick glue. Fold the butterfly in the middle and glue it beside the eggs. A butterfly uses natural glue to make sure that the eggs stay on the leaf. Tell children that it is fine to use extra glue to make the beads and butterfly stick to the poster board.