How to Make Butterfly Snack Bags for Preschoolers

It always makes me smile just to see the first butterfly of the season. I don’t know why, but it just feels slightly lucky or magical when those colorful wings flutter by! As you learn about bugs this spring, or maybe you’re just planning to enjoy warm weather outdoors, you must make this butterfly snack craft! Your kids will love it because it’s super cute and delicious all wrapped up!

bowls of cheerios, pretzels, goldfish, and cheerios for butterfly snacks.

fruit loops in a clear plastic snack bag to make the snack bag butterflies.

tie a pipe cleaner around the middle of the bag full of snacks to form the two wings of the butterfly snack.

butterfly snack gags with cheerios, goldfish, and fruit loops.

Recommended Grade Level:

Preschool

Kindergarten

Supply List
Coordinating Activities

Materials for the Butterfly Snack Bags

Snack Bags
Pipe Cleaners (chenille stems)
Snacks (fruit cereal, goldfish, cheerios, pretzels)

text says: spring themed snacks rainbows on a stick. image shows: three skewers with rainbow loop cereal and marshmallows at both ends

spring themed snacks dirt pudding recipe for kids

The butterfly themed snacks can be filled with whatever “stuffer” you have: fresh fruit, pretzel sticks, peanut butter cereal, marshmallows, raisins, etc. The butterfly snacks for preschoolers are engaging and fun to make and provide a kid-friendly snack when they get hungry. Perhaps after chasing those colorful wings with nets! (and setting them free, of course)

Preschool Snack Ideas

how to make butterfly snack bags with pipe cleaners AT SNACK TIME

BUTTERFLY SHAPED SNACKS ARE JUST ONE WAY TO KEEP STUDENTS’ MINDS ON LEARNING EVEN WHILE THEY ENJOY A YUMMY SNACK.

A butterfly or insect theme in preschool is a great way to create hands-on learning for students. Pairing a snack with any theme throughout the year is a wonderful way to incorporate art and eating, while also reviewing themed vocabulary or other skills.

I love adding in a specialty themed “snacktivity” whenever possible. Everyone always wants to know what the daily snack is going to be! Walking through the steps to make the snack bag butterflies is part of the fun.

While making the preschool butterfly snack idea, you can chat about symmetry, the life cycle of a butterfly, what they need to eat, or the parts of the butterfly.

I like to make the butterfly food idea an hour or so before snack time so students can enjoy them a while before they end up in tummies. Display them on a baking sheet while students wait for snack time.

Creating the step-by-step craft requires listening and following directions. It’s a great time to talk about the real parts of a butterfly and the duplicates of some of those parts with craft supplies:

What color do you want your butterfly’s wings to be?
Is the shape of your snack butterfly’s wings similar to a real butterfly?
Can you find the part of your snack that would be the butterfly’s head? Antennae?
Does a real butterfly have parts that your snack doesn’t have? (legs, eyes)

What Can Preschoolers Learn While Making the Butterfly Snack Craft?

PAIRING SNACKS AND CRAFTS

MAKING THE BUTTERFLY SNACKS WITH PRETZELS AND CEREAL REQUIRES GOOD LISTENING SKILLS. OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS GAIN HIGH INTEREST BECAUSE EVERYONE LOVES A YUMMY TREAT!

Do you know how to make a butterfly snack bag?
What did you do first? Next? Then?
Does your butterfly snack look like a real butterfly?
Point to the butterfly’s antennae/wings/body.

Why Is It Important For Kids To Make Edible Crafts?

It’s a no brainer that kids love snacks (like our easy reindeer cracker snacks), but they also love craft projects. Pairing them together is win-win and provides unseen benefits related to child development.

Develop a Child’s Creativity

Making edible crafts allow children to be creative and follow a process from start to finish. Then, they get to undo it when they dig into those yummy snack bags!

Develop a Child’s Language

Every opportunity to eat a butterfly snack bag, or how to make one, gives children chances to learn new vocabulary and practice it then and there.

Develop Fine Motor Skills

The butterfly snack bag requires children to pour the chosen snacks from a microwave safe bowl into the snack bag, seal the bag with their fingers, and twist a pipe cleaner around the bag. That is a lot of opportunities for small motor development.

Sensory Development

A craft project that doubles as a snack activates many senses! Not only do kids get to see and touch the materials, they will smell them and taste them, too! Be careful to make a clear distinction between crafts we eat and crafts we don’t.

Butterfly Snack Bags Instructions

Supplies for the Butterfly Snack Bags:

Snack Bags
Pipe Cleaners (chenille stems)
Snacks (fruit cereal, goldfish, cheerios, pretzels)

Directions for Making the Spring Butterfly Snack:

Place snacks in each snack bag. Do not overfill. Release as much air from the bag as possible and seal the bag.
Divide the snacks in the middle (this is where the pipe cleaner will wrap around the bag.) Fold the seal of the bag over towards the back to hide it.
Wrap a pipe cleaner around the center of the bag. Twist the pipe cleaner at the top a few times. Then, use your finger or a pencil to create the antennae for the butterfly by twisting it around.
Repeat this process for the desired amount of snacks and butterflies you will need.
Display your butterflies and then serve!

NOTE: Add googly eyes to the pipe cleaner if desired.

Butterfly Life Cycle Books for Kids

Extend the Activity:

Fruit Butterflies

Make a healthy, no-added-sugar treat. Give kids a piece of parchment paper, or wax paper, and different types of fruits or vegetables and challenge them to lay it out to look like a butterfly before eating.

Pretzel Twists

Attach pretzel twists on each side of a section of banana for an instant butterfly pretzel! Add melted chocolate or white chocolate drizzle as desired.