These butterfly life cycle playdough mats let kids squish their way through metamorphosis. They roll tiny eggs, a wiggly caterpillar, a chrysalis and a beautiful butterfly, right on the mat.
It’s a hands-on way to make the butterfly life cycle stick, and it builds fine motor skills at the same time. Perfect for a spring science center or an insect unit.
How to Use Butterfly Life Cycle Playdough Mats
Butterfly Life Cycle Playdough Mats
Get the printablePlaydough
Laminator or page protectors (optional)
Playdough in green, white, brown and bright butterfly colors
Print and laminate
Print the mats on cardstock and laminate them or slide them into page protectors so playdough peels right off.
Build each stage
Kids roll tiny eggs on a leaf, a caterpillar, a chrysalis and a butterfly on the life cycle mat, in order.
Use the build cards
The six build cards show kids how to make a butterfly, chrysalis, caterpillar, eggs and a flower.
Label the butterfly
On the label mat, kids build a butterfly and name its head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, forewing and hindwing.
The Butterfly Life Cycle for Kids
- Egg: A butterfly lays tiny eggs on a leaf.
- Larva (caterpillar): The caterpillar hatches and eats and grows, shedding its skin as it gets bigger.
- Pupa (chrysalis): The caterpillar forms a chrysalis, and inside its body completely changes. This is metamorphosis.
- Adult (butterfly): The butterfly comes out, dries its wings and flies off to lay eggs of its own.
More butterfly activities
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Teach the life cycle with real photos, too. The posters show every stage plus kid-friendly vocabulary like metamorphosis and chrysalis.
Playdough mats include
- 2 life cycle mats: eggs, larva, pupa and adult
- Label-the-butterfly mat
- 6 playdough build cards
- Full color and black and white versions
- Instant PDF download, nothing is shipped
Perfect for
- Spring science centers
- Insect and butterfly units
- Preschool through 1st grade
- Occupational therapy
- Homeschool
Butterfly Playdough Mats FAQ
Printable mats where kids build each stage of the butterfly life cycle out of playdough: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly.
The head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, forewing and hindwing.
Print on cardstock and laminate them so playdough wipes right off.
About ages 3 to 7. Little ones build the stages, and older kids label the parts.
More Spring Science and Playdough Mats
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We love seeing these activities out in the wild: the lumpy letters, the snack breaks, the proud “I made a B!” moments. Leave a star rating, tell other parents what worked (and what totally didn’t), and add a photo of your setup if you’d like.
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