Beginner's Guide to Getting Started:

Welcome to Butterfly School!
We are so glad you will be joining us!

To Get Your Butterfly School started:
 find a good time & place to share creatively with your child
 learn how to lead a Butterfly School Session
get acquainted with our Materials

When is a good time for Butterfly School? How long do I need?

Each Butterfly School session is designed to last about 15 minutes.
Choose a time when you can totally focus on your child.
Early morning, after breakfast, sets a nice tone for the day.
Stay flexible; remember, you can even take it on the road.

Where should I set up?

Butterfly School originally began in a kitchen with a table & chairs, wall space to tape papers on and a refrigerator to post up paper with magnets. It is helpful to have paper, tape, crayons and other supplies close at hand.

Wherever you set up, make sure you are comfortable drawing.
Your child needs to be able to see you & the papers.
It helps to be able to tape mini-posters on a wall nearby.
A bulletin or easel might also be helpful.

What is a Butterfly School Session?

Session Basics = Date + Weather + Activity Sheet
Begin: read the date and count together
Next: do a weather check together
Then: Share the Activity Sheet
Last: Post your child's work!
Finally: Collect your child's work!
The Sheets are designed to be self-explanatory. If you would like to see how they work, take a look at our sample sessions.

What materials do I need to lead Butterfly School Sessions?

We have designed Butterfly School to make it easy for you to have great materials. You may already have lots of the things you will need, like crayons, child-safe scissors and tape. You will need four types of materials: Activity Sheets, Creativity Baskets, Mini-Posters and Traceable Shapes. We'll show you how to make Creativity Baskets and you can print the rest of the materials from our site. Each week's letter will include a checklist of the materials you will need on hand for that week.

Activity Sheets
Activity Sheets are designed to be used one per day.
Print out sheets each weekend for the following week.
Post them in a handy place, like on your refrigerator.
Use Activity Sheets as inspiration, feel free to improvise.

Creativity Basket
We'll help you make your first Basic Creativity Basket.
All materials will be easy to find around your house or locally.
For the first week you'll need tape and crayons. These can be kept handy in a basket or shoe box.

Mini-Posters & Traceable Shapes
To enhance the four themes explored in Butterfly School, we have made mini-posters for you to print and post for your child. Each week's letter will suggest related mini-posters.