That’s why you see so many fun bug crafts, like our recycled butterfly craft.  

Why not fuel your child’s natural curiosity?  

Get the kids together to make this DIY Butterfly Feeder and observe the butterflies that visit.

This year we raised butterflies for the first time. 

My 8 and 9 year-old watched carefully as our caterpillars grew.  They wrote down the dates as the caterpillars turned into chrysalises and they tried to guess when the first butterfly would appear.

The day they started to emerge we set the timer on my phone to go off every 10 minutes, and we were lucky enough to actually see one as it entered into the world as a beautiful Painted Lady Butterfly.

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DIY Butterfly Feeder

To make the release of our winged friends a little easier on the kids, we decided to make the simple butterfly feeder craft from our new favorite book:  100 Backyard Activities That Are the Dirtiest, Coolest, Creepy-Crawliest Ever.

The book is full of gorgeous photographs and easy to follow directions that will keep the kids exploring nature in their own backyard all summer long.

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Lid
• Yarn
• Pony Beads
• Hole Punch
• Very Ripe Fruit

Use the hole punch to make 3-4 holes in your plastic lid.  Try to space the holes equally apart so your feeder hangs straight.  

If your hole punch won’t work on plastic you can carefully use the tip of a sharp knife to make the hole. (This step is best done by a parent if a knife must be used.)

Cut your yarn into pieces that are approximately 18 inches (45 cm) long.  Tie each piece of yarn to the holes in the lid.

Have your child string 8-10) pony beads onto each piece of yarn.  Then tie the tops of the yarn together.

Hang up your feeder and add several pieces of ripe fruit. 

Find a place you can sit and observe your feeder for butterflies. 

Your child may also enjoy doing this simple ant observation.

We hung our DIY butterfly feeder in the flower bed, where we can see it from the front window.  

The kids plan to record the butterflies that visit our feeder in their science journals.  Maybe they’ll even catch a glimpse of our Painted Ladies.

Looking for more nature study ideas?

• Simple Worm Observation for Kids
• Go on a Bug Hunt!
• Tadpole Nature Study

The post Simple DIY Butterfly Feeder first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

You can capture some of that magic with this cute plastic egg firefly craft.

It’s a fun summer craft that makes a cute nightlight for backyard camping.

Every year, as the school year ends, we make up our summer bucket list.

Along with some new things to try there are some “must do” items that are added to the list each year:  campfires, making s’mores, and catching fireflies to name a few.

Firefly Craft

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Materials Needed:

• Plastic Egg
• 4 Chenille Craft Sticks (pipe cleaners)
• Wiggly Eyes 
• Duct Tape
• Fine Tip Black Permanent Marker
• Battery Operated Tea Light
• Hot Glue Gun 
• Thumbtack

On your plastic egg there should be a half that is a little more pointy.  This will be the back side of your firefly. (We used a purple egg here, but yellow eggs glow better.)

Use your thumb tack to poke 6 holes into the pointy half, 3 on each side, directly across from each other.  If you are doing this with a group of kids, you may want to make the holes ahead of time.

Thread a pipe cleaner through one hole, and then thread it through the hole that is directly across from it.  Do this with all three sets of holes, bending them to become the lightning bug’s legs.

You will also add the firefly’s wings to this half of the plastic egg.

Use a piece of duct tape, folded in half so that the sticky sides are together, leaving 1/4 inch uncovered so it can stick to the egg.  If desired use scissors to round out the corners of the wings.

We used white duct tape, but yellow and silver also look good.  Or let your child get creative and use another color or pattern duct tape. 

The smaller half of the plastic egg will become the lightning bug’s head.

Use your thumbtack to poke 2 holes, about 1/4 inch apart, on one side.

Thread the last pipe cleaner through one hole and out the other to form the antennae.  We wrapped the pipe cleaner halves around a pencil to curl them a bit, but you could also leave them straight.

Hot glue 2 wiggly eyes in place and use a permanent marker to make a smile.

To complete your firefly craft, insert your tea light (you can also use a mini glow stick) into the half with the lightning bug’s legs.  We found that putting it with the flame side going through the pipe cleaner legs worked best.

Then snap the other half of your egg on.

Make this plastic egg firefly craft and bring a bit of that magic indoors this summer.

These little bugs make cute camp crafts and can also double as nightlights for a backyard camping trip.

You may also enjoy:

• Recycled Bottle Light-Up Lightning Bug
• Thumbprint Firefly Craft
• Firefly Make 10 Math Game  from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

The post Simple and Cute Glowing Firefly Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It’s no wonder that firefly crafts are popular in the summer.

Capture those summer night memories with this simple thumbprint firefly craft.

Thumbprint Firefly Craft

You will need:

• White Paper
• Yellow Acrylic Paint
• Another Color of Paint of Your Choice
• Glitter
• Paintbrush
• Black Marker
• Scissors

To create your own jar of fireflies, first cut out some large paper jars from white paper.  (To make the jar symmetrical I folded the paper in half vertically and cut out the shape of half a jar; opening it revealed a nice, symmetrical jar shape.)

Mix your yellow paint with plenty of glitter.  (I wish you could see in the picture how the lightning bugs sparkle in the light.)   Have your child use the paint to make plenty of fingerprints on their paper jar.

While the fingerprints are drying, paint the lids on the jars.  Then allow the paint to dry completely.

Once the fireflies dry, use a black marker to create wings and antennae for each firefly.

The kids decided to add some grass to the jars, too, just like in our jar of real lightning bugs.

This firefly craft is a magical summer craft that’s perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.  Older kids might like making their own water bottle lightning bug craft that really glows.

Check out these other fun summer posts:

• 20+ Adorable Sea Animal Crafts
• Save the Sea Animals Game — Perfect for Preschoolers
• Make Your Own Water Wall from Recyclables 
• Awesome Camp Crafts 

The post Thumbprint Firefly Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.