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Let's Play Butterfly School!
Special illustrations to show you scenes of Butterfly School in progress!

A note for new visitors from Jessica Steigerwald, Butterfly School's creator

Welcome! If you are new to Butterfly School, or want to learn more about our approach, please print & read this special set of our kid-tested & teacher-reviewed Activity Sheets. I often find that I learn things best when I can watch someone at work. I designed this special set of sheets to show you how we play.

Butterfly School began at my kitchen table and I'm delighted to help you transform yours into an adventurous place to share learning with your preschoolers, toddlers & other children!

The "Let's Play!" series of Butterfly School Activity Sheets was first introduced to visitors in September 2000. We left the dates on these sheets to demonstrate how I like to coordinate a date with counting games. When we post new materials, they reflect current dates. We remove dates from materials in our resource library so your child can watch you write out the date whenever you share a sheet. It is great for our kids to watch us write.

As you'll see in the pictures, as our ideas grow, I just tape more sheets of paper onto the kitchen wall. By leaving things posted for a day, a week or longer, children can enjoy the chance to review and absorb things over time. Keep your current focus materials at your child's eye-level. Older materials are still useful if they are posted in less visible areas.

At the end of the week, or month, we gather everything and sort things into three ringed notebooks -- our portfolios. I like to use plastic "sleeves" or "sheet protectors" from the office supply store for the kids' artwork. It is nice to have one notebook for each child and one for yourself. I enjoy keeping a collection of our Butterfly School work. I believe it is a special family record that we will all treasure later. Now and then, we all look over our notebooks. I can see that the kids are pleased with their growing collection of work! We can all see how much they have learned. It is fun to look back and remember the times we have shared. It is also fun to consider all the great things we will get to share in the future.

If you haven't already done so, please look over the "Let's Play!" Activity Sheets and continue reading for more tips.

	L is for lemon! This sample set shares activities featuring the letter "L". You might try to find a lemon to share with your child. Feel the texture. Cut it open, squeeze a wedge and collect the juice in a cup to taste (just dip in one finger). Smell the lemon too! Look for other yellow things. Have yellow paper on hand to cut out paper lemons.
	L is for leaf! Gather some leaves to show your child while you are at the kitchen table. Throughout the week, pay special attention to the leaves you see growing outside. Look at flowers, bushes and trees up close. Gather some leaves to trace. Use masking tape to decorate your Butterfly School area with real leaves. You can gather our special leaf outlines to trace or view our collection of leaves at our parent site www.shininghours.com!
	L is for love! We have a heart shape featured on one of the caterpillar's sheets. Share the heart shape with someone you love. Fold a sheet of paper in half. Cut out a construction paper heart and let your child decorate it to send to a parent at his or her workplace, a grandparent or a special friend!
	L is for ... Make an "l" word collection all week. Add new "l" words each day!

Special Tips:
We have tried to emphasize one aspect of Butterfly School in each of these Activity Sheets. Consider printing the whole set now to gather ideas from each day. Some elements of Butterfly School that we have included are: sharing the date, checking the weather, discussing a special letter, sharing an exercise together, and a simple activity that brings one of our ideas "to life".

Starter Set . . . Caterpillars & Butterflies.
You can use these Activity Sheets with your child as a way to introduce them to Butterfly School, or to show them other ways of enjoying Butterfly School. Enjoy discussing ways that your Butterfly School sessions are similar to the caterpillars' sessions -- and ways that they are different!

Keep us in the loop!
We are always creating new materials and we appreciate feedback from other kid-friendly grown-ups. Please share our ideas with your favorite children and with your friends. Let us know what works, where you see room for improvements and suggestions. We would love to hear from you.

for Butterfly School, jess ( jess@shininghours.com )