Get crafty with the DUCK Lab! Each Friday, trained research assistants from the UNCG Psychology Department’s DUCK Lab will guide at-home crafts for children ages 3 to 12. Parents can join too to learn fun facts about crafts that foster age-appropriate skills or learn about the DUCK Lab’s nonprofit child development research projects.
This Friday, the DUCK Lab invites all preschool-age friends to join Kathleen to make a butterfly puppet. Follow along as Kathleen takes you through each step and see how you can prepare for sunny days and warmer weather with a butterfly friend, even in the middle of winter!
Parents, did you know?
This craft engages your child’s creativity and independence! Read on below for more info. about the connection between these types of activities and age-appropriate developmental milestones.
We also invite you to check out our child development research opportunities, which are now modified for the virtual world! Please click here to learn more or sign up to participate with us.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Supplies:
Construction Paper
Foam shapes
Popsicle Sticks
Markers
Pipe Cleaners
Glue
Directions:
Cut out a butterfly shape from construction paper.
Use glue to stick the butterfly shape to a popsicle stick.
Stick pre-cut pipe cleaners to the top of the popsicle stick (they will serve as the butterfly’s antennas).
Draw eyes and a mouth on the popsicle stick.
Decorate the butterfly wings with markers or foam shapes.
The DUCK Lab: Butterfly Puppet
Relation to Developmental Science:
Children are likely familiar with basic shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles. However, this craft exposes them to a new, unfamiliar shape that corresponds to butterfly wings. Since the wings might not fit children’s existing labels for familiar shapes, this craft can expand children’s creativity and lead them to connect their existing knowledge about shapes to a new, unique shape that corresponds to an animal. This craft also offers an opportunity to act independently as they decorate the butterfly. While they might need help with some parts of the craft, it is important to still lend children the opportunity to pursue their own creative ideas for decoration to foster agency.
*Great for preschoolers!
The DUCK Lab is a partner in the nonprofit Child Development Research Center in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. They conduct studies of social and cognitive development with 2- to 12- year-olds. Families who participate in their research studies are volunteers in the Greensboro community who generously offer their time to help support research and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.