Butterfly Feeders
Create a fantastic butterfly feeder and watch all the butterflies visit your garden.
You will need:
• Paper plates
• Hole Punch
• String or Wool
• Beads for decoration
• Variety of fruit
Making the activity:
1. Make 4 holes using the hole punch around the rim of the plate. Try to ensure that they are equally spaced so that the butterfly feeder is balanced.
2. Thread the string or wool through the holes ready to hang up. Why not thread on some beads to decorate the butterfly feeder even further.
3. Tie the ends of the string or wool together, the butterfly feeder should now look like an upside down parachute.
4. Place some over ripen fruit onto the plate and then hang up out of reach of children and near to some flowers.
5. Wait for the butterflies to start visiting your garden.
How this supports knowledge and development:
Encouraging wildlife into your nursery garden and supporting children to engage with it helps them to form an understanding of the natural world, the plants and creatures that inhabit it.
By placing different fruits on the butterfly feeder, will give children the curiosity to find out which one the butterflies liked the most. Why not ask the children some probing questions like: which fruit do you think the butterflies will like the best?
Children will be able to become familiar with the seasons and different weather types and which one is the best environment for living things. Don’t forget to buy a butterfly spotting guide to see which butterflies you have attracted to your garden.
EXTEND THE ACTIVITY - Is a paper plate strong enough, or would a plastic one work better? Does a plain plate or a brightly coloured, decorated one attract more butterflies? What type of fruit do the butterflies like best? What are the different kinds of butterflies that have visited, can you name them?
TOP TIP - Butterflies really love eating mushed up banana. If you freeze a banana in your freezer it will turn black and squishy – perfect for the butterflies.
