March 14, 2020 is
Learn About Butterflies Day!

In honor of Learn About Butterflies Day we have 5 FUN ways to help you learn about butterflies and get your kids engaged in, and excited about these beautiful creatures. Butterflies aren’t just pretty to look at. They play an integral role in our eco-system. If we don’t remember this and teach our kids about them, we won’t have them around to do their jobs.

1. Get Crafty

A quick stroll around Pinterest will show you hundreds of ideas on how you can create Butterfly inspired crafts. Whether you want fast and easy, or something more detailed - there is a butterfly craft for everyone.

Here is a fun, easy one, that we really like. There’s a good chance you have everything you need for these Bow-Tie-Noodle-Butterflies already in your home. You can see the full instructions for this craft HERE.

2. Read a Book

You may even already have this one on your bookshelf! “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” By Eric Carle. It’s a childhood classic and gives kids a glimpse at the lifecycle of a butterfly. 

There are a lot of great books out there, so make sure you’re getting a book that is appropriate for the age range you need. A great option for older kids is, “How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for kids” by Carol Pasternak.

You can always go to your local library to find books about butterflies!

3. Make a Butterfly Snack

Who does’t love a tasty snack? We know the Hungry Little Caterpillar does. 

Here’s a cute idea for an afternoon snack to help you celebrate, “Learn About Butterflies Day”. It’s also a great opportunity to teach kids the different parts of a butterfly - or at least the basics.

Here's an easy guide to help:

4. Create a Butterfly Friendly Garden

Here are some things you can do in your own yard to help provide for butterflies.

1. Plant for continuous bloom
2. Plant natives
3. Avoid herbicides and pesticides
4. Provide a place to rest
5. Provide Cover
6. Give them a place for puddling
7. Plant host plants

The more nectar plants and milkweed host plants in your yard the great the chance you have of getting butterflies to head your way. Check out more details on these tips here.

Home Depot and other nurseries are helping these efforts out by including information on the tags of plants that show if they attract butterflies. See the photo above!

5. Raise Butterflies

Once your garden is setup, what better way to give it a kick start than to raise your own butterflies for it? This is an incredible activity the whole family will enjoy and learn from. 

When you’re ready, you can purchase a butterfly kit and follow the instructions for how to raise them. You’ll get to watch the amazing transformation from tiny caterpillar to HUGE caterpillar and then see them work their way into a cocoon! We all know what happens next and you’ll get to see it first hand, as the caterpillars you so patiently raised, emerge from the cocoon a beautiful butterfly.

Then you release them into your butterfly garden and you’ve helped the butterfly population. Your family will want to do this over and over again!

Stay tuned - we will do a more in depth post on the entire process of raising butterflies!

In honor of Learn About Butterflies Day - post a picture on Instagram or Facebook, that you’ve taken of a butterfly and tag @babyanimalprintsbysuzi 

Be sure to share with us in the comments what you did to Learn About Butterflies!

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