Montessori Life Cycle Animal Figures with Flash Cards, Plastic Insects Monarch Butterfly Kit Caterpillar Toy for Kids, Realistic Animal Figurines (Butterfly)

I just received it and already love it! My son is so afraid of insects that I made it my goal to teach him about them and these are the perfect resources.

My toddler was really interested in butterflies and their life cycle. I searched for a long time for something realistic and landed on these.The images and coordinating life cycle figures are perfect. We ended up laminating the cards because they were getting a lot of use.I will definetly order the others sets!

My students love using this in my preschool classroom at the Discovery Center! It made learning about the butterfly life cycle hands on.

Love that these creatures depict the life cycle of several animals. Its a great visual aid for nature studies and leads to some magical nature/creative play.

My son loves to play with the bugs but the cards are too advanced for him to really grasp. He is almost 3.

My son was so happy with this set! They’re good quality and so cute

Useful educational manipulative for early learners. This set would be great both for home use or in a Montessori tray or science center at a preschool or elementary school. Parents and teachers can use these figures as visual aids in discussions of insects and life cycles or when reading fiction and non-fiction books on these topics. Great for kids that need hands-on learning. These sets are small, so they lend themselves to small group work rather than circle work or demonstrations in front of the whole class.For more independent play, kids can match each figurine to the appropriate stage photo card.I love that the cards have real photos not illustrations.I do wish the back of the cards offered a bit of educational information about each stage in the life cycle. Just a few bullet points would be a nice addition and allow for more independent play. Obviousness parents and teachers can provide their own information to accompany this set, but it would be great if some was included.The chunkier figurines (ladybug, frog and tadpoles, pupa) feel like they are made of a nice quality plastic. The butterfly larvae on the leaf, ladybug eggs on leaf, and even the butterfly itself all feel a bit cheaper. Don’t know if this is just because they are thin pieces or if they are actually made of a different type of plastic. Either way, these pieces don’t seem quite as nice or durable.Overall good set, decent value.

These kits came in a plastic sealed package of two boxes. The small plastic pieces are smaller than I expected, so I don't know if a teacher could really demonstrate them in the front of a large classroom, but for small group demonstrations or stations, these would be better suited. I ordered these for play for my 4 year old son, but because of the size, I would definitely recommend or back up the 3+ age suggestion with supervision. Pieces could get easily lost or put in a child's mouth. That's just my opinion. The larger pieces are fine like the full grown frog or butterfly, but the smaller pieces are pretty small in my opinion. Still a very cute set for teaching young children.