Michael Chinery in The Complete Amateur Naturalist states that “Nothing lives alone. Every living organism depends on another for its food.” They are “…intricately connected in what may be called the ‘web of life.’ So it is with butterflies. They need certain plants to thrive. If you want butterflies in your garden you will need to plant the right kinds of flowers to encourage them to come. Butterflies feed on nectar, which they get by plunging their long tongues into the center of flowers. They are attracted to flowers that produce a lot of nectar so these are the kinds of flowers you should grow. Choose a variety of plants that bloom from early spring until late autumn. Planting flowers and making butterfly puppets will help young children learn to respect nature.

Infants: Spring Flowers: Plant dark pink Aubrietia flowers, and perennials (which means they comes back year after year) light pink Honesty, yellow Alyssum and red Valerian in the early spring so that you can take infants outside to see the butterflies, which hibernate through the winter and wake up with the first spring sunshine. Take infants out on nature walks and point out butterflies. Use colorful picture books to reinforce how they look.

Toddlers: Summer Flowers: Sing nursery rhymes like “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary” from my book Teaching with Heart about gardens and plant purple Ageratum and Sweet Alyssum. Other purple plants are Hyssop & Buddleia (sometimes known as the butterfly bushes) along with Lavender, Thyme and Petunias to attract summer butterflies. Talk about their color and size. Make puppets out of paper plates which have been cut in half and stapled with both rounded ends to end. Add pipe cleaners as antennas and let toddlers decorate them with crayons or magic markers. Hang them up to fly in the room.

Preschoolers: Autumn Flowers: These following flowers need to be planted in early summer so as to bloom in autumn. The pink heads of the Sedum Spectabile attract huge numbers of butterflies along with purple Michaelmas Daisies and Mums. Read the Eric Carle book The Very Hungry Caterpillar in which the caterpillar starts as an egg and goes though life stages where a transformation takes place in a cocoon as it metamorphosis (changes) into a beautiful butterfly. However, there is a mistake in the book, because a butterfly forms a chrysalis and only moths form cocoons. Encourage the children to make butterflies out of tie-dyed coffee filters pinched with a cloth pin and a pipe cleaner antenna that fit inside the chrysalis or cocoon made out of toilet paper tubes.

You can have a real impact on the environment and the life of the children in your care if you try to abide by a code of behavior that encourages a respect for nature. Follow the Society for the Promotion of Nature Conservation Code.

1. Leave wild places as you find them.
2. Leave wildlife in the wild.
3. If you disturb birds or other wild life it may mean their death.
4. Take notes and pictures not samples.
5. Leave wild flowers for others to enjoy.
6. Observe the rules and laws relating to wild plants and animals.