Simple Butterfly Craft with Reading Practice!

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Our Chinese dictionary has a page dedicated to insects, and my 3-year-old daughter loves to stare the creatures and asks the same questions…

  • 哪些昆虫是我们的朋友? Nǎxiē kūnchóng shì wǒmen de péngyǒu?  Which insects are our friends?
  • 哪些昆虫可以刺激我们? Nǎxiē kūnchóng kěyǐ cìjī wǒmen?  Which insects can sting us?
  • 哪些昆虫有翅膀? Nǎxiē kūnchóng yǒu chìbǎng?  Which insects have wings?

And she always tells me: 我最喜欢的昆虫是蝴蝶!  Wǒ zuì xǐhuān de kūnchóng shì húdié!  My favorite insect is the butterfly!

We have done this butterfly craft several times with various colors and shapes for the wings.  My daughter learned the word 翅膀 (chìbǎng / wings) very well after doing this craft many times!

What you need:

  1. Wiggly eyes
  2. Craft sticks
  3. Pipe cleaners
  4. Construction paper
  5. Glue
  6. Tape
  7. Markers
  8. Scissors

What to do:

  1. Fold construction paper in half and cut wings
  2. Write 蝴蝶 (húdié / butterfly), 翅膀 (chìbǎng / wings), or 昆虫 (kūnchóng / insect) on wings.  For those who are learning basic characters, suggest writing (chóngzi / insect).
  3. Place craft stick at crease of paper
  4. Affix wiggly eyes
  5. Affix pipe cleaners and bend ends to make attennae
  6. Ask child to trace each character.  We used a glitter pen to make the wings have a pretty sparkle!
  7. Use butterflies for pretend play and start flying around!


If you try this activity, let us know!  Leave a comment and don’t forget to tag a photo #ChalkAcademy on Instagram. 

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