Materials
Baskets
Special topic books
Instructions
1. Ahead of time, cut out white clouds, dark clouds, 25-35 medium-sized
raindrops, a sun, and a rainbow. Glue them to the mural paper from left to
right in the following order:
* white cloud
* dark cloud
* a group of about five raindrops
* about 15-20 raindrops
* another grouping of about five raindrops
* the sun
* the rainbow
2. Tape the mural to the wall.
3. Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? over the period of several
days until the children are very familiar with the story. Also put out copies of
the book for the children to read to each other.
4. Show the children weather pictures and discuss the types of weather shown,
the kind of weather in their own climate, and so on. Talk about clouds and
rainfall.
5. Write the following adapted story on a large sheet of chart paper.
Butterfly, Butterfly, What Do You See?
White cloud, white cloud,
What do you see?
I see a dark cloud looking at me.
Dark cloud, dark cloud,
What do you see?
I see a raindrop looking at me.
Raindrop, raindrop,
What do you see?
I see a bright sun looking at me.
Bright sun, bright sun,
What do you see?
I see a rainbow looking at me.
Rainbow, rainbow,
What do you see?
I see a butterfly looking at me.
6. Read the adapted story to the children and point to the mural cutouts in
order as you read.
7. Demonstrate how to make handprint butterflies. Paint both of a volunteer's
palms and ask him to press one palm onto paper with his fingers spread, and
then press the other painted hand on the paper so that the wrist areas of the
two prints are touching.
8. Spread newspaper on the floor underneath the mural.
9. Working with one child at a time, paint both hands with the child's favorite
color of paint. Then, gently holding one hand at a time, carefully guide the
child to make a handprint on the mural. Repeat with the other hand, placing
the second print on the mural so that the prints are joined at the wrist area.
10. When the child has finished his butterfly print, remind him to clasp his hands
together and walk to the sink without touching anything.
11. Repeat until everyone has had a turn, spacing the prints all along the mural
under the cutouts.
12. When the mural is dry, encourage the children to use markers to add details
to the butterflies or to the weather scene.
More to do
Art: Make individual butterfly handprints on construction paper.
Science: Make a weather chart and track the weather for a week.
More Science: Examine the life cycle of a butterfly.
