Stain glass butterfly

A big interest of ours at the moment is all the nature which coming into the garden. Now that all the insects, bees and butterflies are starting to appear again we have started to dig out all the books and toys to help feed the children’s interest.

I have had a piece of acetate which I have been bursting to use on an activity and this seemed like a good opportunity as any, you could alternatively use a laminated sheet.

Resources:
Acetate or a laminated sheet
pipe cleaners
poster or glass paint
pen
glitter

Step 1- We cut the A4 sheet in half and then folded it in again, we then drew a silhouette for half a butterfly’s body using a board marker and cut them out.

Step 2- Once they are cut out we folded a pipe cleaner in half and wrapped it over the centre of the butterfly. The pipe cleaner was then twisted at the top to secure it and bent out for the butterfly’s antennas.

Step 3- We then drew on the shapes my daughter wanted, we discussed how the butterflies wing are symmetrical and would be the same on each side. My daughter is 6 so she understands the meaning of symmetry however if you are going to be trying the activity your self this it is a good and simple way to explain it to little ones.

Step 4- Once the shapes were drawn we painted them, this is great for hand eye coordination as you can encourage little ones to try and stay in between the lines.

Step 5- Once these were all filled in we sprinkled on the glitter and filled in the out side with her choice of colour.

Once finished these butterflies would look great decorating a child’s bed room window, hanging from the ceiling or tucked in indoor plant pots.