Butterfly Girl

I'm kind of Victorian in my wall decorations- lots of pictures of different sizes, but completely covering the walls.  It drives my Zen-loving husband a bit bonkers.  No white walls here!

So, when it came to start decorating my daughter's room last year, I had to really think about what to put in there.

Yes, it had to be educational.

Yes, it had to have lots of bright, primary colors.

Yes, it had to have lots of shapes.

And, of course, it had to be fun.

So, what to do?

I started out purchasing the wall-cling alphabet.  It's ok.  It's much smaller than I was really expecting, and has weird things in it like broccoli.  The large letters are also only A-F, and T, and Z.

What kind of alphabet is that??

They also supply these TINY little numbers and mathematical signs.  Like, do you like a baby needs to learn the division sign over the letter M?

But I put them up, anyway.

And it only wrapped 1/2 way around a wall.  So, I went looking for something else.  I found these butterfly wall clings that were absolutely great!  They come in a wide variety of sizes and colors- anywhere from a couple of inches wide to almost 9 inches wide.  I put them put with the alphabet at chair-rail height all along the room.

They're my daughter's favorite!  And despite what "experts" say, she could see them by the time she was a month old.  I had them running right past the changing table and she used to turn her head and reach for them, so I KNEW she saw them.  Now, whenever she's upset, we get to ask her to point to a specific colored butterfly.

And she has her own favorites, too.  Like the medium-sized pink one and she always cracks a grin when she points to.

I realized after looking at them for the past year what a fantastic educational buy they have been.

1. They teach complex patterns to kids (there are pattern books out there that cost $20 for 10 pages that teach that).  
2. They also teach bilateral symmetry (matching sides right and left), which exercises both hemispheres of the brain.  
3. They teach colors.  
4. They teach sizes.
5. And, if you have them pointed in different directions, they can help teach directions, too.

I have to say, for the $12 I spent per sheet, I got a lot of more out of them than the A-F, T, Z alphabet.