This fun spring, butterfly, position quilt art project helps students with autism understand the difference between in front of and behind. First, you will need some colorful construction paper. I used light blue, royal blue, orange, yellow, red and pink. Cut out sixteen pieces 4 inches by 5 inches. Next, tell the student to punch out a butterfly on eight of the pieces of colored paper. Show the student two different colored papers, and show in front of and behind. For example, “I am going to place the red paper behind the pink paper that has been punched.” Tell the student that it is their turn. Have them put the red paper behind the pink paper. Continue asking the student to place one piece that has been punched in front of the other. Change your words around by using in front of and behind. For example, place the red card in front of the pink card, and place the pink card in back of the red card. Next, have your student glue each card together making eight pairs. Finally, glue the pairs together on a piece of white paper to make it look like a quilt. The picture below shows four rows and two columns, however, you can make the quilt larger if you would like to. Embellish with colorful rick rack.
The purpose of this art project is to have fun, and work on expressive language. During the project, the student will follow directions, and put a card in front of or behind of another card. After that, it is time to practice more expressive language. Ask what color is in the front and what color is in the back. Then, ask the student what they made. The answer should be that they made a colorful, butterfly quilt. Notice the descriptive words here. You, the teacher may need to model the sentence for the student. Always point out the describing words or adjectives to the student.
After completing this project, your student should have a much better understanding of in front of and behind. Use the butterflies that were punched out for practicing above if your student has caught on to in front of and behind. Enjoy your time together!
