The book, Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus has been beloved by readers of all ages for more than forty years. It makes the wonderful basis for a short study of butterflies and faith.
Project Creation writes:
“Monarch butterflies are one of the best examples of design in God’s Creation, for none of the stages of caterpillar/butterfly development occur by chance, the central principle of the religion of evolutionism. The facts show that God programmed every stage of the caterpillar/butterfly life cycle. If there were no other evidence of design in God’s Creation than caterpillars and butterflies, this alone would be enough to show the fact of His design in His Creation.”
Bible Study and Discussion Questions
Why isn’t Stripe satisfied? (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)
Who can satisfy Stripe (and us)? (Psalm 107:9)
Where are most of the caterpillars going? (Matthew 7:13)
What caused Stripe and the other caterpillars to step on each other? (James 3:14-16)
What do you think they were hoping to find at the top of the pillar? What do people hope to find “at the top” if they’re successful?
Why did Stripe have a hard time believing he could be a butterfly? (1 Corinthians 2:5) Do you ever have a hard time believing you can change?
Stripe and Yellow both had to give up what they had to find their true purpose. Do Christians have to do this? (Luke 14:33)
The process of becoming a butterfly felt like dying, but Stripe and Yellow had new lives as butterflies. How is that like having a new life in Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17)
When Yellow became a butterfly, what did she want to do first? (Romans 10:1-15) Do you know someone who needs to hear the good news about Jesus?
Who were you created to be? (1 Peter 2:9) Do you think it’s easier being a caterpillar or a butterfly?
Literature
Discuss literature basics of the story using this Free Character, Setting Plot Download on Pinterest
Why do you think the author titled the book Hope for the Flowers instead of something else? What would you have titled the book?
Science
The book is about hope for the flowers, so use this Butterfly Glamour Garden Kit to prepare flowers for your butterflies.
The quintessential activity for a butterfly unit study is watching your own caterpillars transform. We used this butterfly kit and loved it.
Watch the entire life cycle of a Monarch butterfly in just four minutes.
Want to learn more? Read about the butterflies you will find in your back yard, Monarch migration, or watch this short video on Monarch migration.
Arts & Crafts
This clever Caterpillar Changing to a Butterfly Craft is a perfect complement to Hope for the Flowers. Your children may want to make a yellow butterfly, but any color will do!
Field Trip
A trip to a garden, insectarium, or both would be a great way to end this unit.
Did you enjoy these ideas for getting the most out of a great spring book? Don’t miss the rest of the posts in A Book and a Big Idea.
This is my all time favorite picture book, from when I was a tween girl and my auntie gave it to me to encourage me that I was beautiful and special, like Stripe, and that God had a very special purpose for me.
I was absolutely delighted to see it on the IHomeschool Spring list and wanted to thank you for such a fabulous job tying a lesson to it!
Cristy, you just made my efforts worth every minute! So glad this was a treat for you. I haven’t done the unit with my kids yet, but I’m really looking forward to it. I know my tween daughter will especially love it.