The Caterpillar and the Polliwog

"The Caterpillar and the Polliwog" by Jack Kent

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent is perfect for spring time.  I read the story several times using background music ("Waterfall Sounds - The Soothing Sounds of Ponds and Waterfalls" by Nature Sounds & Backgrounds).  The sounds really help the children to imagine that they are actually at a pond.  On the track you can hear insects, frogs, birds, water splashing, etc.  I use the props (see below) to retell the story and to give every child in my class a part to play.  I made multiples of some animals (such as fish and birds) so that I could bring the total up to 20.  Of course, you could always print extra props as needed.  Beside the sound effects, I place a large, blue tablecloth (as a "pond") on the rug and the children sit around it in a circle.  I fill a spray bottle with water and occasionally spray the children to heighten the experience of being at a pond.

The video for this (from "Owl Moon and Other Stories" by Children's Circle) is so adorable!  My children really loved watching the polliwog turn into a frog as he was waiting to see what would emerge from the chrysalis.  The thing I like the most about this video and book is that the characters have real personalities.  The polliwog is so curious, and the caterpillar is sort of prideful, and a little braggy.  The snail is indifferent, while the fish is very wise and confident.  When my children acted out the story, they really captured these traits.

Story Props Caterpillar and Polliwog

This guided reading book, which I just found in my files, matches really well with this lesson.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Frog Life Cycle Book

As I was shopping at Michael's Art & Craft a few days ago, I found some really neat punchers to make butterfly and flower shapes from construction paper.  They worked great as manipulatives to make patterns, and then the students glued them onto sentence strips.  Next, I made this butterfly strip as a way to quickly assess whether my children understand how to make a pattern.
Pattern Butterfly Long

This post would not be complete if I didn't mention a few songs to go along with the butterfly and frog activities.  "Butterfly Addition" and "Butterfly Subtraction" by Miss Jenny work really well with these butterfly headbands that I found at Target for just a dollar each.  Can you believe that my kids were mad today if they didn't get a chance to be the butterfly?  I told them that they would definitely get a turn on Monday.

Butterfly Song Activity

Beautiful Butterflies

This post is filled with butterfly books, songs and activities!

The books "Waiting For Wings" and "Where Butterflies Grow"

The first two books that I would like to tell you about are Waiting For Wings by Lois Ehlert and Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder.  They both have beautiful pictures, and in my opinion are appropriate to read to pre-k, k, or 1st-graders.  Both books discuss the life cycle of the butterfly and introduce vocabulary that our students will find really interesting.

The books "From Caterpillar To Butterfly" and "A Monarch Butterfly's Life"

The second two books, From Caterpillar To Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman and A Monarch Butterfly's Life by John Himmelman, are a little higher than pre-k - more appropriate for K, 1 and 2.  They still talk about the life cycle, but in a more factual, scientific manner.  I've used From Caterpillar To Butterfly when I've actually had the caterpillars in a jar in my room.  When I first started teaching, I was scared to get the Painted Lady Butterfly kit, but I assure you that it's really easy to use, and the kids love watching the process.

My pre-k kids still have problems with identifying numerals, so I used the song "Five Butterflies" by Tiana to have the children look at the number and go to drink from the "daffodil" when it was their turn, as well as showing the other students in the room the number on their butterfly.  The "daffodil" was made from a yellow tablecloth bought at a Party Store.  Here is the video if you'd like to see us doing the song:



Over the years, I've searched the internet for great songs about butterflies that my students could act out or move to in some way.  My favorite songs are:

"Butterfly Addition" by Miss Jenny (she also sings "Butterfly Subtraction")
"The Butterfly" by Dr. Jean (a really pretty fingerplay with nice movements)
"Beautiful Butterfly" by Jack Hartmann (a mellow butterfly song that's very factual - best for K and 1)
"Caterpillar" by Sharon Macdonald (a really cute story song - you can have the children use their index finger, starting at their shoe, and have the "caterpillar" crawl up to different parts of the body)
"Caterpillar's Story" by Dr. Jean (an adorable song that the kids can act out, sung to the tune of "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around")

Finally, here is an activity where the students match lowercase letters to uppercase letters.  The kids really liked this because the letters are on butterflies.  Because I had to fit so many letters and pictures on the page, this is done on legal size paper (8.5" x 14").
Alphabet Butterfly Matching

I want to make my posts as beneficial as possible.  I would appreciate it so much if you could tell me what your favorite things to see in posts are.  Do you like song lists?  Activities?  Book ideas?  Please let me know, because then I can try to include those things more often in my posts.  Thank you!