I'm putting together monthly play activity schedules to make it easy for you to create a month of fun for your kids at home or in the classroom, every month of the year. The May activity calendar focuses on flowers, Mother's Day, butterfly and bug themed ideas for toddlers, preschoolers and school kids. There's also a sneaky Stars Wars craft for May the 4th. The activities include a mix of art and craft, sensory, science and play ideas as well as books to read aloud during the month.
Each activity is explained in detail below, including how you can extend or adjust the activity based on your child's age. You can also download our free interactive May activity calendar pdf with links to instructions for every activity to save for future reference.
MAY 2023 PLAY ACTIVITY CALENDAR
This play activity calendar includes activities that can easily be done using items from around your home {or classroom} and you can substitute items to make it suit what you have on hand. If you want to be fully prepared I've set up an Amazon supply list that includes all of the main items needed for every activity during May.
There are no activities listed for weekends as they can be used for free play/family time or to catch up on activities you may have missed during the week. Below you will find detailed explanations of each activity as well as how to modify them for children of different ages and some extension activities you can do if you're looking for additional ideas.
At the bottom of this post you'll also be able to download a copy of the interactive May play calendar PDF which includes direct clickable links to all of the activities featured in this months calendar.
Flower Playdough Mats
Download these free printable flower playdough mats so your kids can have lots of fine motor and sensory fun creating different types of flowers out of playdough. You can use the playdough mats with store bought playdoh, or make your own homemade playdough, just make sure you have enough colours to make all the flowers you print out.
Flower Cutting Tray
Head outside and pick some different types of flowers then bring them back inside to set up a flower cutting tray. You only need a tray and some scissors for this activity and kids will have heaps of fun cutting up all the flowers and stems into little pieces.
This activity is great for hand/eye co-ordination and for practicing scissor skills with younger children. To make it even more interesting you can add a magnifying glass or kids loupe so the kids can explore all the parts of each flower in more detail.
Make sure this activity is done under supervision so nobody accidentally hurts themselves while cutting. Also keep any petal pieces that are cut up to reuse for tomorrow's flower activity.
Gelatine Flowers
Gelatine flowers are a twist on a traditional suncatcher that's usually made with contact paper. To make gelatine flowers you'll need some plain gelatine powder or gelatine sheets, water and flower petals {if you didn't save some from yesterday's activity go on a quick nature walk and pick some more}. Follow these instructions to make your own gelatine flower suncatcher.
Plants Can't Sit Still {Read Aloud}
Plants Can't Sit Still is a fun and interactive way for children to learn about the life cycle of plants. The book teaches children all the ways plants can move as they grow, even though they don't have feet or fins, or wings. They can still wiggle, squirm, creep and climb.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Extension Idea:
Plant movements. After reading the book get the children to act out the different types of movements mentioned in the book. This is a great way to exercise their gross motor skills during the day.
May The 4th Star Wars Paper Craft {Bonus Activity}
This activity is a bonus activity included for those families and teachers who choose to celebrate Star Wars Day. May the 4th is recognised as Star Wars Day because it's a play on the franchises popular line may the force be with you.
If your children know some of the Star Wars characters then this star wars droid craft is a great way to use a process art painting activity to celebrate the day. The craft uses watercolours and black glue to create colourful resist art droids.
Blooming Flowers Science Experiment
This blooming flowers science experiment is a really fun way to show kids how flowers unfold as they bloom. All you need is some paper, the free flower template and some water. The experiment uses capillary action between the paper and water to demonstrate how real flowers bloom.
Additional Ideas:
Simple science experiments. If you kids loved this science experiment, there are lots more easy science experiments for kids here, including more flower and capillary experiments.
Handprint Flower Bouquet
Create a beautiful keepsake art piece by making this handprint flower bouquet. You'll need some different coloured construction paper, glue and a pencil to trace around your child's hand and arm. Older children can cut and assemble the bouquet themselves. This craft can also be done with young children, but you'll have to assemble it for them.
Once you've finished your child's bouquet it can be framed or laminated and given as a Mother's Day gift, or hang it up if you have a display space for your kids artwork. It would also be a great take home Mother's Day gift to make in the classroom for families.
Mama Loves You So {Read Aloud}
Mama Loves You So is a gorgeous board book which describes a mother's love for her child in all different ways with references to nature and animals.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story being read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Glue & Paint Necklaces
This is possibly the easiest way to make a DIY necklace ever. All you need is a muffin tin, some PVA glue, paint and string. Follow the instructions here to make a DIY glue and paint necklace. The finished result is a fantastic abstract disc necklace.
Pouring the glue and paint is great fine motor practice for kids as they have to squeeze hard to make it come out. Older kids will also be able to thread the necklace string themselves. This is not only a fun craft activity to do with the kids, they also make great Mother's Day presents too.
Mother's Day Questionnaire
Most mum's love to hold onto anything sentimental, and it doesn't get much more sentimental than a Mother's Day questionnaire from the kids. Not only are they a fun insight into the way kids think and what they think about you, they're also a great keepsake of the kids cute handwriting at all different ages.
These free printable Mother's Day questionnaires are a great way for children to practice their letter formation and handwriting skills, as well as developing their language. The questionnaire can still be used with younger children too, as long as they can verbalise their answers to an adult or teacher who can fill the sheet out for them. It also comes in 2 options with mum or mom to cater for all countries. You can also find more Mother's Day questionnaires and printables here.
If you prefer an All About Mom or All About Mum page that incorporates pictures that children can colour themselves, have a look at my colouring page version in my Etsy store which comes in both US and AU/UK spelling options.
Mother's Day Colouring Card
This free printable Mother's Day card is a great way for children to get creative and make mum something special for Mother's Day, no matter their age. Simply print off the free template and let the kids decorate it and you'll have a special sentimental card for mum or grandma.
I made my Mother's Day card design purposely black and white only, with lots of different smaller images, so children can make their mark on the card by colouring in all the elements with whatever colours they choose. The flowers, hearts, leaves and rainbows I've included are very simple so they're easy for younger kids to colour in as well as older kids.
Other Mother's Day cards. If you prefer to make a card with your children, rather than use a printable design, there are plenty of other ideas in our list of Mother's Day cards kids can make.
Coffee Filter Butterflies
Kids can create their own beautiful butterflies by making these easy coffee filter butterflies. Coffee filters are a great art material as they absorb watercolour paint and create beautiful colour blends when you add more than one colour. You can always use plain, or coloured clothes pegs if you don't have any glitter clothes pegs.
This craft is a great way to build hand strength and find motor skills and children use their paintbrush, cut and twist the coffee filter and clip on the peg. Toddlers may require some assistance.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar {Read Aloud}
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the most famous children's books of all time. The story follows the journey of a caterpillar from hatching through to his transformation into a butterfly, and all the food he eats along the way.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the animated story here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Real Caterpillars. If your children want to see the butterfly lifecycle in real life, you can get your own caterpillars from Insect Lore and watch their metamorphosis into butterflies in real time. You can get the Insect Lore kit in Australia here. Please note the entire transformation will take a few weeks.
Paper Plate Butterfly Life Cycle
Another fun way for children to visually learn the butterfly life cycle is to make this butterfly paper plate craft. Using a paper plate, pom poms and tissue paper kids can recreate all the different stages of the butterfly life cycle in order.
If you're doing this craft with younger children you will need to label the stages for them, however they should still be able to make the eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly. You may also want to substitute the white Sixlets for white mini pom poms so nobody is tempted to taste test the eggs.
Extension Idea:
Life Cycle Sensory Bin. If you want to make learning the butterfly lifecycle more interactive for children you can get monarch butterfly lifecycle figurines and create a sensory bin with real or fake leaves to mimic their real habitat.
Butterfly Sensory Bin
You can put together a really simple butterfly sensory bin for imaginary play using sensory rice {or another sensory base}, butterflies and flowers. If you use fake flowers you can then save them for other activities. I also recommend plastic butterflies as you can use them for messy sensory play as well.
Sensory bins are a great way to expose children to different textures and provide lots of visual and tactile sensory experiences as they play with the items. They're also great for fostering imaginary play, language development and social skills {especially when used in groups}.
Handprint Butterflies
These handprint butterflies are a fun craft activity and also sensory experience as children get to put their hands into the paint. Make your butterflies any colour you like and use the free butterfly body template to assemble it together like a butterfly.
DIY Bug Hotel
Use an empty cardboard box, pieces of cardboard and toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes to create a DIY bug hotel. Add in some bits and pieces from nature like leaves, sticks, bark and pinecones. The kids can use the bug hotel inside with plastic bugs for imaginary play, or leave it outside to attract some real creepy crawlies.
If you're leaving it outside make sure you put it undercover when it rains so it doesn't disintegrate. You can find more recycled crafts to make with cardboard tubes here.
Extension Idea:
Bug Hotel Book. If your children are keen to learn more about bug hotels and how they can attract different bugs, read the book Bug Hotel {or watch it being read aloud here}.
Insect Sensory Bin
This insect sensory bin is a great way for children to explore different insects without having to find or touch real insects. Add in a magnifying glass so kids can really see the details of each bug up close.
The addition of sensory spaghetti provides a slimy, but not wet sensory experience which children don't usually get to explore. This one may get messy though once the kids squish and scrunch the spaghetti.
Recycled Minibeasts
If you have a hoard of toilet paper rolls, or cardboard tubes at home {and who doesn't?}, these recycled minibeasts are a great way to turn them into something creative. You'll need some paint or paint sticks, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and acetate sheets. There are alternative items mentioned in the post if you don't have all of these on hand.
Head and Tails Insects {Read Aloud}
As you flip through the pages of this book there are clues to guess what the next bug is. Children will learn interesting facts about the different types of bugs, including what they look like, where they live and special characteristics they have to camouflage themselves.
Read the story aloud in a group, read the book to your child, have your child read the book to you, or watch the story read aloud here on YouTube. You can borrow the book from a friend or the library, or get your own copy from Amazon or Amazon AU.
Bee Life Cycle Craft
Explore the life cycle of a bee with this fun bee paper plate craft using paper, pom poms and cotton balls. Creating the eggs, larva, pupa and adult bee are all great ways for children to use their fine motor skills as they scrunch the paper and decorate the bee.
Toddlers will need assistance with drawing the hexagon background and labelling the stages. They may also need help assembling the adult bee together with glue.
.jpg)
Dragonfly Craft
These twig dragonflies are a great nature craft combining different natural and craft materials and they can be used for imaginary play once they're finished. Just like the butterfly craft earlier in the month, these dragonflies use coffee filters and watercolours to create the colourful wings. Combine them with a twig, twine and a gem to create the dragonflies head, thorax, abdomen and wings.
Bug Playdough Mats
Kids can build their own bugs with these free bug playdough mats. There are 4 different designs you can download including a snail, caterpillar, spider and butterfly. You can laminate them or use them in dry erase pocket sheets to make them reusable. They can also be used with various loose parts and washable markers.
Mix & Match Bug Paper Crafts
These free colouring bug templates can be mixed and matched together to create a lady bug, bee or butterfly. Get the kids to colour in the individual pieces and then glue them together to make their own paper bugs. If you want to make them more personalised you can change the bug face to a cut out photo of your child.
DOWNLOAD THE MAY PLAY CALENDAR PDF HERE
Click the download now button below to download the interactive PDF file. Each image on the PDF calendar can be clicked to go directly to the instructions for the individual activity.
Please note that this activity calendar PDF is for personal or classroom use only and may not be shared, electronically uploaded or sold on any platform. If you would like to share or feature the calendar in a blog post please link back to this post directly.
Disclosure - This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.
