Butterfly Art Project for Kids

Using this free butterfly template, preschool students can make a stunning butterfly craft with very few materials. Just looking at this beautiful butterfly you would think that the process was quite difficult. However, as you’ll see in the step-by-step tutorial below, this craft is quick, simple, and just right for classroom display projects.

Butterfly Craft Project Materials:

• Butterfly Template
• Chalk Pastels
• Black Construction Paper
• Scissors, Tape

The first thing you’ll want to do is print out one butterfly template per student. The reason each student needs their own template is to cut down on smudging, and because there is an optional 3-D art element that involves the template, something you’re kids are definitely going to want to create.

Once you have the template cut out, you’ll want to tape it down gently in the center of your black construction paper. Tape by rolling into a cicle and placing in the center of the butterfly. Do not tape the edges of the butterfly because the tape will get in the way of the magic we are about to create!

Starting in the center, choose a color from your chalk pastels. Show children how to lay down the pastel horizontally to drag color from the center of the butterfly out to the black paper. Do a few strokes with the color then try another.

Continue to add color all the way around the butterfly. You may need to turn the paper so that students can get a good stroke from the center out to the edges. Point out all the overlapping colors and the new hues that your students are creating.

Once you’ve filled your entire paper, stand back and take a look at your creation. Really, it’s beautiful, and you can stop right here and hang the project on the fridge with pride. However, if you want to add a little extra to your butterfly art project, then carefully peel the template off your black construction paper.

You’ll see you are now left with a butterfly’s shadow. The places where the template laid are left black and untouched, save a few smudges in the center. TIP: a soft tissue will buff those smudges right out so not to worry!

Now for the fun part! Instead of discarding your template, we’re going to add it back to our picture!

First, fold the butterfly along the body outline. Look closely at the picture to see that I’ve folded each wing in to create the outline of the butterfly’s body. This will also give some shape to the template.

Then, using a small amount of gluestick, paste the bottom part of the butterflies body to the corner of your page. Next, paste the wings down on either side so that they are raised up just slightly. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the wings are not laying flat, I pasted them just above where they might lay in order to give them a 3D effect.

Use a little bit of the white chalk to make a dashed line for the butterflies path. How fun is that? It looks like the butterfly is flying up off your page!

This project works amazingly well for end of the year display boards! You can add your students names and a special “graduation” message. Imagine your bulletin board filled with these beautiful butterflies, each representing a child who has successfully completed

---