The Butterfly Project

The Butterfly Adventure * All Through the Country
Tamara, Annika, Rachel, Regina
Four year old girls at MacDonald Montessori School
A b utt er fly wa s fly i ng i n a
T here wa s a woo dc huc k
All t he but te rfl ies go t
gar de n wit h fl ower s. A not he r
in o ne o f t he ga rde ns.
tire d . T hey d id n’t l i ke
gar de n had bu tte r flie s a nd
T his is t he woo dc huc k.
the woo d chu ck
anot he r hou se ha d a
He has a lo ng poi nty
bec au se he li kes to
di ffer ent ga rde n. I n all t he
no se a nd a s har p po i nt y
snea k u p o n them i n
gar de ns, t her e we re m ag ic al
ba ck a nd pi nk ear s . The
the ni ght. They ma de
but ter fl ies a nd b utte r flie s
res t i s b row n. T he
one bi g flow er bed so
that w ere n’t ma gi cal . The
wood c hu c k t ri ed to get
the y co uld all fit i n
but ter fl ies fl y a ro u nd t he
the b utt er flie s. The
the sa me bed . T he y
gar de n l oo ki ng fo r ne cta r.
mag ic al b ut ter fli es w ar n
pu t flowe rs to get he r .
T hey ru n ou t o f ne ct ar i n
the b utt er flie s t hat were
T hey ri ppe d t he
the ir home ga rd e ns , s o t he y
no t m agi c al a nd t he y go
pe tals o ff a nd s tu c k
fly all ove r t he cou ntr y t o all
into t he b ig hou se s o t he
the m all to get he r.
the g ar de ns to fi nd nec ta r.
wood c hu c k coul d n’t get
T he n t he y coul d slee p
T hey need to si t dow n to
the m.
wit h e ac h ot he r c au se
dr i nk t he ne ct ar . T he y s it
the y w ere all s ca re d.
dow n o n t he ir le gs wi th
T hat ’s w hy t hey s ta y
be nd i ng t hei r knee s, be ca use
by e ac h ot he r a nd
the y do n’t have fee t.
hu ddl e u p.
Reflections on the Butterfly Project
We have shared with you images from an experience of children, parents and
teachers at MacDonald Montessori.
During the time that St. Paul was preparing to host the Hundred Languages of
Children Exhibit, four of the children were exploring butterfly stories. There
seemed a connection between our journey and the stories that the children were
creating. The stories evolved into visual expressions, a collaborative book and
an animated video. We then made a Public Service Announcement to share the
coming of the Exhibit. The children created all the elements and we, as adult
collaborators, just offered support of materials, editing and production.
T he b ut ter fli es follo w
T hey fle w all a lo ng
a t rail a nd ge t t o
way . T hey e nd ed
whe re they are
up o n a re ally
su ppo sed to be .
gra ss y v alley . I t
T hey need to si t dow n
sta rte d to rai n a few
to d ri nk nec ta r o n t he
mi nu tes a fte r t he y
way . T her e a re
got t her e a nd i t w as
but ter fl y foo t pr i nts
pu r ple ra in d ro ps .
but t he y ma ke t hem
T hey de ci de d t he y
wit h their wi ngs
would live t here a nd
bec au se t he y do n’t
the y l ived i n that
have feet . T hi s i s t he
pla ce t hey fou nd
ma p t hat shows w here
ever after . T he E nd
the b utt er flie s go.
T he e nd i s w he re all
the foot pri nts go .
After the girls view the completed 30 second spot of the PSA, the adults thought the project was
finished. But, the children asked, “Now can we make the long movie?” They were so interested
and motivated, so we continued creating and filming. In making notes of our observations, we
made the following reflections:
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The children have advanced storytelling skills. Collectively the team has a protagonist
(butterfly), an antagonist (woodchuck) and a conflict – the essential ingredients to a story.
Their use of fantasy appears to be unbridled.
We’ve found it’s helpful to create the artwork before and during the storytelling
sessions. When they have their drawings in front of them, it’s easier for them to tell their
stories.
The children sometimes collaborate in unison and sometimes break away as individuals,
taking ownership of their own twists to the plot. It didn’t seem to bother them that the
many different experiences of story telling created many different versions of the story.
In the creative process, the children’s relationships and friendships with each other seems
to be at the forefront.
They said because they’re friends, they want to be together and this project happily
accommodated that.
Audrey Favorito and Sandy Burwell