It’s no secret that we do a ton of name activities in my preschool craft. Names are important to the kiddos, and learning their names is something every preschooler strives for. A child’s name can be used to teach so many early learning concepts, too. I created two fun activities for using a butterfly craft to teach kiddos’ their names. I think they’re perfect for a butterfly or insect theme, or just for some colorful spring fun!
2 ways to use a butterfly craft to teach kids’ their names
Materials
White paper/cardstock
Glue
Paper straws
Bow tie pasta
Rotini pasta
Food coloring or liquid watercolors
Prep
We have a lot of colorful butterfly life cycle pasta right now. We used them to make a butterfly book, as well as a necklace about the butterfly life cycle.
If you don’t have these bits on-hand, grab some pasta and color it! Place the pasta in a bag, add some food coloring or liquid watercolors, and then shake well. Let the pasta dry completely before making the name butterflies.
Directions for the first butterfly craft name
Write the child’s name on a thick piece of paper or a piece of cardstock. If the kiddo’s name is long, you might need to staple two pieces of paper together.
Set out the butterflies (bowtie pasta) and caterpillars (rotini pasta). Have the child trace the first letter with glue, then add pasta as she sees fit! Keep going, letter by letter, until her name is done. This is a great time to talk about letter formation, letter sounds, that we write left to right, and maybe even touch on some butterfly life cycle facts.
Directions for the second butterfly craft name
Grab some of the colorful “butterfly” pastas – one for each letter in the child’s name. Cut up a paper straw so you have one piece for each butterfly. The kiddo can help with this, of course! Write a letter on each straw piece until the child’s entire first name is represented. Glue each straw letter onto a piece of butterfly pasta.
Let the child use his butterfly letters to create his name. As with the above butterfly craft name, talk about literacy and science concepts as you go along. The child can make his name, then break it apart, and then remake it to his heart’s content. If the kiddo wants to, he can even glue his butterfly letters to a piece of paper or cardstock to display.
Which butterfly craft name would your child enjoy the most?
This post is part of Preschool Powol Packets’ Name Recognition and Writing series! Be sure to check out the other awesome name ideas!
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