“Why are butterflies colourful?"

With the intention of finding colours from nature and embracing the beautiful sunshine, we march together outside.

We hold hands, our laughter bouncing like little echoes through the air, as we search for bright yellow dandelions. Hand in hand, we continue our search. Just waiting for us to discover.

The adventure begins the moment we step into the sun. 

"The golden ones are hiding," says Rebecca seriously. "We have to look carefully."
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So we become explorers. 

We tiptoe past tall grass that swishes against our legs. We peek under bushes. We climb a small hill, squinting into the bright, warm light,

"Wait!" whisper Anthony. "I see one!"

Soon we spot another ... and another ... until suddenly we are surrounded by them. Tens of bright yellow dandelions, dancing in the breeze like a field of little stars.

Dhanika kneels down, careful and gentle, picking just a few. 

Dhanika is engaged with finding and picking up different types of flowers. She looks into the little truck checking the flowers we pick and starts describing them to an educator. "Look, they are cutie. So beautiful." She is describing colors, and she says "Let's smell dandelion!" She sniffs. "It smells like a cotton candy!" 
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She tries to sort the flowers on the little cardboard, showing to Ryan what she has found today. We don't know the name of pink fluffy flower, then she comes up with a name "Tippylion". 

Coming to the last part, she is looking for the one that she hasn't sorted yet. She calls "Where is the orange one?" She finds it and completes all the lines.  

​With the dandelions in our hands, Dhanika and Rebecca begin to pound them gently, mix them with warm water, and watch closely as the colour start to bloom.

"Look!" says Rebecca. "It's turning yellow!"

"It's our nature paint," whispers Dhanika.

Ryan dips his brush in and swirl the colour onto scraps of paper we have pasted along. Soft streaks of yellow appear.

Hand in hand, a little messier now, we take a look at our work. Our adventure does not just find dandelions. We turn them into something magical.

Following children’s inquiry about butterflies, we explore colours through painting on ice-shaped butterflies. As watercolour touches the cold surface, we observe the colours slowly spreading and blending.

This learning experience invites us to wonder: Why are butterflies colourful?Through this sensory we experience our ideas, experiment with colour mixing, and deepen our connection to butterflies and nature.

Another time, another lovely day, we gather again under the warm sunshine. This time with Tiffany, our art volunteer, who brings a bag full of curious supplies.

We sit in a circle, our paper resting on the ground, brushes ready. First, we dip them into bright watercolour paints and sweep colours across the page. Blue like the sky, green like the grass, and yellow like our dandelions from before. 

We sprinkle tiny grains of salt onto the wet paint. We watch closely as patterns begin to appear, spreading and sparkling.

Then we gently lay crinkled saran wrap over the paper, pressing if softly.

We take turns squeezing bottles of white glue, swirling it gently across the wings. Making soft lines like the paths of flying butterflies.

Before the glue can dry, we grab the glitter and sprinkle it over our butterflies. Tiny sparkles fall like fairy dust, catching on the swirls of glue.

The various learning experiences connect beautifully to our inquiry: Why are butterflies colourful?

As we explore nature outdoors, gather dandelions, and create art using watercolour, salt, glue, and glitter, we begin to notice something important. Colour is everywhere, and often it has a purpose.

When we arrange petals into a butterfly, we see how colour can be designed by nature, not just for beauty but for meaning. When we watch watercolour spread with salt, we observe how colours move and change, just like butterfly wings seem to shift in the sunlight.

Each experience helps us slow down and notice details. These observations lead us closer to build understanding that butterfly colours are not random. They have a purpose.

To extend the learning, we step into the wonder of transformation through a movement experience of metamorphosis.

Each one of us takes turns to curl our bodies tightly on the floor, arms wrapped around knees, small and still.

Slowly, we begin to stretch and wriggle. As we crawl around, inching forward, exploring like caterpillars, searching for food. Some move fast, some slow, all giggling. "We are growing ... growing ... growing," we chant softly.

We imagine a quiet transformation happening inside. Fingers spread like wings. Bodies rise. We stand tall. A gentle flutter begins. First small, then wider. "We are butterflies!"

Anthony moves across the space, spinning, gliding, and "flying" through the air, letting our wings (arms) catch the sunlight.

We begin to connect our bodies to the story of metamorphosis. Understanding that butterflies do not start as wings, but grow through stages of change. And in our movement, we carry a deeper understanding: butterfly colour and beauty are part of a long journey of transformation.

Kindest,
Children & Friends.