Whenever possible, I believe science should be hands on.  Enabling children to use their five senses to see, hear, touch, taste and smell not only makes science more fun and interesting but helps to provide a richer learning experience that cements information and furthers understanding.  That is why The Life Cycle of a Butterfly book pairs perfectly with the Butterfly Life Cycle Figurines from Insect Lore to give your children a fuller educational experience that includes a hands-on element. 

The book is a 24-page, level 3 reader with bright and colorful illustrations that takes the reader through a simple and age appropriate explanation of the life cycle of a butterfly.  This book features the monarch butterfly.  It includes a glossary at the end with related vocabulary. In addition, it also contains suggestions for library books to check out and instructions for how to use factsurfer.com to learn more about butterflies and life cycles. 

The figurines are large scale plastic models that display the four life cycle stages of the painted lady butterfly.  They are sturdy models, which is great for little hands.  The color is good, and the texture adds a sensory element to their learning, allowing children to feel the small bumps on the chrysalis or the veins on the butterfly wings.

I used the book and figurines as part of a unit study on butterflies with my kindergarten-aged daughter.  The book was a good length for keeping her attention which allowed for quick re-reads throughout the study.  She also liked that the pictures were large enough to see minute details such as the tiny hairs on the caterpillar’s legs.   I used the figurines to help her more easily learn the names of the different stages within the life cycle.  Having the objects available to touch and physically see made it easier for her to associate the names with the different stage, as well as, being able to put them in their correct order.  My two-year-old, upon seeing such fun “buggies,” joined in on our learning and was able to begin identifying the figurines by their name as well.   However, she mostly just wanted to play “garden” with them, which I allowed, minus the egg figurine since its size is only about an inch in diameter.

The figurines were great for using to create educational games with!  We have a board game that uses the different stages within the life cycle to move ahead from egg to adult and our figurines were the perfect game pieces.  Not only that, but they served as the perfect models for art—the 3D element allowed my daughter to closely examine the different stages from all sides and incorporate more details than she would get from a picture alone.  Really, you are only limited by your creativity.     

This product is well geared towards those homeschoolers with a penchant for unit studies but would be easily enjoyed by any elementary or preschool aged children without a formal study plan as well.  Whether you are looking to enrich your curriculum with a hands-on element or to just add educational toys to your household, the Butterfly Life Cycle Figurines and The Life Cycle of a Butterfly book from Insect Lore would be a positive addition. 

-Product Review by Destiny Mawson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2019