Butterfly Life Cycle Pasta Bracelets

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I have some girls in my daycare that love all things “pretty,” and we all know when introducing new concepts to kids, it’s easiest to come at the idea from an angle that they are already interested in. Recently, we were learning about the life cycle of a butterfly and I thought making some Butterfly Life Cycle Pasta Bracelets would be a fun angle that they would really be interested in exploring.

Of course, this craft was open-ended and open to all children in the daycare and the girls, while understanding that the different pieces of pasta represented different stages of the butterfly’s life cycle and that a butterfly needs to go through all 4 stages, decided they wanted to only paint and use the “egg” and “butterfly” pieces. And that’s okay!

Even if this was going on cardstock instead of a bracelet, it’s important to allow children at this age to make their own associations with their work. One child expressed that she didn’t like the “worm” stages (caterpillar and chrysalis) but she understood that they happened.

Making Butterfly Life Cycle Pasta Bracelets

First, assemble your materials:

4 different shapes of pasta:
- farfalle (butterfly)
- macaroni
- penne
- rotini (wheels)
Cardboard roll
Paint
Glue

We used a large cardboard roll from a chip container that was leftover from Miss G’s Princess Bracelets earlier in the week, but a smaller size would probably be less frustrating and prone to slipping off. My girls just wanted to be the same as Miss G and didn’t want a smaller roll.

Cut the cardboard roll into strips to make the base of the bracelets (older children can help with this).

Start off by encouraging the kids to paint their pasta and cardboard rolls, and allow to dry.

Once the paint is dry, provide the glue and encourage the kids to attach the pasta life stages on their bracelets – preferably in order, but again, my perspective is that exposure to the idea is more important than perfect execution.

Allow the glue to dry, and then when they are ready, encourage the kids to wear their bracelets and describe the life cycle of the butterfly!

This was a fun, open-ended craft that is affordable for the classroom and fun for kids who like to dress-up. After making their bracelets, the girls involved were very interested in describing their knowledge of the butterfly life cycle – including the caterpillar and chrysalis phases – while showing off their handiwork.

Would you try this butterfly life cycle bracelet with your crew?

More Bug-Inspired Fun

Roll a Ladybug Dice Game

Bug Addition Cards

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Jennifer

Jennifer Tammy is a trained psychologist and single mom who runs a Montessori preschool out of her home in order to stay home full-time with her daughter, Miss G. Every day she shares easy recipes, parenting inspiration, and hands-on learning ideas on her blog, Sugar, Spice, and Glitter.