How to make a "parent and me" handprint butterfly mobile from newspaper

Spring has sprung and we find ourselves outside admiring blossoming nature. Our 3 year-old daughter can't get enough butterflies. She's fascinated by them, from their bright colors to how they flutter about the yard and how they open and close their wings when perched on a flower. And with a quick slip-on of the ol' fairy wings she too takes flight dashing about outside, soaring as gracefully as a tot can soar, round and round our raised vegetable garden.

Wanting to bring in some of that butterfly magic I came up with this butterfly mobile. It's a simple project that has provided some bonuses like:

Satisfying our daughter's need to paint everything, including herself.

Utilizing man-made and natural materials, thus stimulating talk about recycling.

Introducing topics such as spring, nature, a butterfly's life cycle and more

Encouraging creativity and imagination (our little bug concocts marvelous stories each
night about the butterflies dangling over her bed and how they got in her room).

Providing scissor handling and cutting practice for those small motor skills.

Inducing tingly, sentimental feelings when one peers up at the juxtaposition of baby's teeny
hands next to your unnaturally large grown-up hands.

Step 1 Gather necessary materials

For the butterfly mobile you'll need:

Newspaper both for covering work surface and for creating butterfly wings

Tempera or acrylic paints in desired colors (we used white paint to pastel the colors)

Paint brush and dishes to hold paint

Scissors

Q-tips

Iron

Clear fishing wire or any clear string

Skewer or hole punch

Pipe cleaners

A cool stick picked up on a recent hike around the neighborhood

Comments

[cdawisconsin]

I like everything about this, from the recycling to the time spent making it with your little one. Thanks.

[rob-e]

Wow...this looks really fun and easy to do. I'm going to give it a try with my little one since we'll be raising painted ladies this year. Thanks!