 There is a story about a little boy who watched a butterfly struggle to break out of its cocoon. Not wanting the little creature to suffer, he took a pair of scissors and helped him out by cutting the cocoon. The problem was that in trying to be kind, he actually handicapped the butterfly and it crawled around the rest of its life instead of flying. Things happen for a reason and sometimes in life, we have to struggle but remember that everything will be all right if we just "Let it be". This is the message behind butterfly day. I love my theme days to have a message, especially when I can play the guitar and sing it to them! Let it Be is one of the few songs I can play!
Since my beautiful butterfly wings are yellow, I have signs all over a week ahead of time for people to wear yellow. It gives a nice uniformity to the day and a togetherness between the residents when a lot of people wear the same color and I blow up a lot of balloons. Most of the residents love having a balloon tied to their walker and the whole facility is cheery on a day like this! Of course, any color is fine. It is your day, have fun with it. Since butterflies come in many colors, one year, I chose two or three colors for everyone to wear. It is up to you.
Check out these Butterfly Activities |
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This is a link to one site where you can find some fun facts about butterflies. www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml. I prefer sites like this compared to the encyclopedia site. It is easy to look at the paper and teach the residents the information and sound like you're a genius! The trivia is simply listed. Some sites are too wordy to do this so I search the internet by writing in the subject and "fun facts" next to it and usually come up with some interesting tidbits on whatever my subject of the day is.
 I love the "incredible edible" on butterfly day as shown in the picture. Pretzels are used for the wings and cream cheese or peanut butter is used as the glue. In the past, I have used those little chocolate piece for the eyes, a thick pretzel stick for the body and an almond for the antennas. It is fun to be creative. You never know what you may find in the candy aisle at the supermarket. Pay attention to the shapes. I have come up with very interesting "incredible edibles" through the years. I am sure you can, too.
On butterfly day, you can play stretch-a-word. Write it on the board and the residents can come up with smaller words within the word. You can also find a video of the butterfly emerging from the cocoon. This year, during "Butterfly Bingo" I gave out little pins shaped like butterflies I found at the dollar store. My eye is always open for special prizes to give out on my theme days during bingo. Butterfly Day is truly a way to make an ordinary day extraordinary and a reminder that sometimes we have to struggle, but everything will be okay!" Lastly, some people believe that when you see a butterfly, it is a sign that someone special is watching over you. I believe that, too.
Happy Butterfly Day!
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GINGER'S CREATIVE COSTUMES AND ACTIVITIES