Creating an Edible Butterfly Life Cycle

This week we've been totally into the life cycle of a butterfly.  We've read, wrote, and sang all about it.  We also have two butterfly houses in our classroom, one with a monarch and one with painted ladies.  Our monarch is in it's chrysalis.  So much fun!  My kids are completely loving it. 

To wrap up the week, I led them through the creation of an edible butterfly life cycle.  It was simple but really was a terrific review tool.  Overall, I think the entire thing cost less than $10. 

To get started, you'll need plain white paper plates, mini marshmallows, gummy worms, green grapes, and Pepperidge Farm butterfly crackers.  I prepped it all ahead of time, and gave each group a dish with all of the necessary ingredients. 

We started by dividing our plate into four sections, and labeling them with a key word for each stage: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly.

Then, the kids drew a little background for each section.  I modeled the entire thing on the board, but game them freedom with their drawings. 

Next, I gave each group a dish with the food.  They had to decide which food item fit the stage of the cycle.  The kids had no problem with this at all.

After they had the entire cycle built, elbow buddies took turns explaining the life cycle to one another.  Then, we ate it, which was, of course,  the best part.  They were amazed by the butterfly crackers.  LOL! This was a terrific review tool- creativity, vocabulary, comprehension, and food! 

Food Substitutions:
mini-marshmallow: Tic-Tac, M&M
gummy worm: cheese curl, rotini noodle
grape: Tootsie Roll, string cheese cut into fourths
butterfly cracker: pretzel, farfalle noodle (bow-tie)