Butterfly Paintings with Kindergarten

Colorful butterfly drawing with various dots, swirls, and patterns on its wings. Black outline shapes the butterfly.

Beautiful spring butterflies are a great way to end the school year. Paint dotters give colorful results without a ton of mess.

Kindergartners drew these with pencil first. I read a suggestion from Patty Palmer on the art teacher Facebook group to use tracers for the top set of the wings to get the size proportional and then have the kids draw the bottom of the wings on their own. Then they used paint dotters to create symmetrical designs on the inside.

Kindergarten children painting colorful butterfly artworks on paper using dot markers and watercolors. Afterwards, they went over the lines of the butterfly with black tempera paint. The black contrasts with the colors to make them “pop!”

Two close-up images show hands painting colorful butterfly designs on white paper. Five colorful butterfly paintings created by kindergarteners, with the text "Kindergarten Butterflies" and butterfly icons.

Are you looking for some fun, independent activities for your students?

In my shop, I have a few products I’d like to highlight.

Art Discussion Cards with questions to prompt deeper thinking and conversations. Here is what one teacher said about the cards: “I love these! I will be using these often for art discussions! Thank you for such a great product! 🙂 ”

Art History Sketchbook Prompts with famous artworks to inspire your drawings. Here is what art teachers have said about these prompts: “I love it and what a great idea to use when a child finishes before everyone else. Thanks so much!! ” and “These are great as they are and an easy starting point from which children or educators can elaborate.”

The Weekly Doodle: Printable Drawing Prompts. Here is what art teachers have said, “Perfect for daily bell warm up!” “Great for my Art center! Thank you!”