Working clockwise, form the caterpillar: Cut 4 cardboard circles right through the middle. The circles need to be smaller to fit enough on the page to form a caterpillar, so cut them in the middle to form a smaller circle. Glue the sides back together. Hold in place for 20 seconds while the glue dries a bit. (This is good counting practice! 😊) Once the circle holds, glue it on the right side of the cardstock. Repeat with the remaining 3 circles. Glue in a “squiggly” pattern to form the caterpillar.

At the bottom of the page glue one cardboard circle to form the chrysalis.

Finally, at the left side of the page you will form the butterfly using 5 cardboard circles; 1 for the body and 2 on each side for the wings.

Leave the page flat for about an hour to let the glue fully dry.

Decorate! Add the details to the leaf with crayons or colored pencils and then glue the small pom pom “eggs”. Add legs and an eye to the caterpillar, a branch to the chrysalis, and antennae to the butterfly. Fill them in with tissue paper for extra fun and color!

Draw arrows going clockwise around the page to show each stage of the life cycle.

Get in some handwriting practice by adding the words “eggs”, “caterpillar”, “chrysalis”, and “butterfly” to each stage.

Once the glue dries, display your life cycle of a butterfly craft to show all that you have learned together!