Butterfly Sponge Painting

We are so excited to share a very fun activity today. My girls, R and M (ages 4 and 3), love any preschool art activity with even a bit of paint involved. Either that, or glue.

They’ve been begging to paint for a while but I’ve put it off because it just gets so messy. These days, with so many hot days we need some indoor activities to do.

When the weather is nice, I insist on being outdoors until bedtime so we can soak up every minute of beautiful sunshine. This hot spell seemed like the perfect time for some butterfly fun with butterfly sponge painting!

I remember doing this activity with R when she was 2, and it was an absolute hit! Now that I’m looking for activities to do with M… this one popped into my head.

It also helps that I found the sponge butterfly mixed in with the art supplies. A very good reason to hold on to these kinds of things!

R and M were very excited when I told them we’re going to make butterflies with paint and started cheering.

What you need: cardboard (we used a cracker box), foil, sponges, rubber bands, paint and pipe-cleaners.

• Empty a box of crackers. I cut out the two sides to act as the base for our craft. It’s so convenient that the boxes all have two big sides, so that I have a ready base for my two big girls! (What I’ll do when our baby girl wants to join? Hmm…)
• Cover them with a piece of aluminum foil to make it exciting. And shiny.
• Wrap a rubber band around the middle of the sponge.
• Pour some paint in a few colors onto a plate for the kids to dip the sponge into.
• Glue on pipe-cleaners for their antennas.

They were so proud of their creations. And I had fun too.

R and M carefully placed their butterflies onto the counter to dry, and promptly asked, “What can we do now?” I laughed and said, “Next activity is- we’re going to wash those colorful hands of yours!” Sometimes washing hands feels like an activity in itself!

Sarah is a mom of 3 girls. She loves doing activities with her kids. Sarah is excited to be jumping back into the workforce after being home with her girls.