Materials
Books and videos about butterflies
Cotton swabs
Scissors
Glue
Construction paper leaves
Packing peanuts, pipe cleaners, and cotton balls
Craft sticks
Yarn
Glitter and tissue paper pieces
Zipper-closure plastic bags
Instructions
1. Cut off the top of a large box, and then cut out triangle strips along the sides
of the box (see illustration). Remove the V shapes and corner pieces, leaving
the rest.
2. At the top of the box, pull together
all the points of the pieces that are
left to form a teepee shape. Put tape
around them to hold them together.
Put tape midway down and at the
base.
3. Cut an opening for the door.
4. Ask the children to paint it brown.
5. After the brown paint dries, pour
different colors of tempera paint into
plates and mix in a little liquid soap.
Encourage the children to make
handprints on the sides of the
"teepee" for decoration.
6. When the teepee is dry, place play items such as a plastic fire pit, fake furs, a
drum, pretend food that Native Americans may have eaten, bowls, a large
pot, and so on in the area.
More to do
Books: Have books available about Native Americans.
Circle Time: Read stories about Native Americans. Talk about the types of
dwellings they had.
Music: Play Native American music.
