Preschool Insects Theme Activities
Insects theme planning guide for free!
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Insects Theme Map
Fly Swatter Painting
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Art Center Materials for your Insect Theme
Create an Insect
Set up an invitation to create an insect!
Some items you might include: cupcake liners, Tissue Paper, Paper plates, craft sticks, A variety of shapes cut out of card stock, construction paper, wax paper, chenille sticks, and googly eyes or eye stickers |
Insect Tracks
Me..As a Bug!
Buggy Snacks
Bug Play Dough Habitats
In the Grass Cut and Paste Activity*
Try our free insect themed craft! Children will practice using scissors in order to reveal who is hiding in the grass!
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Bug Antennae Craft
Materials:
Sentence strips or construction paper Crayons, markers or paint –in browns, black, grey, white, bronze, or gold colors Tape Brown or Black pipe cleaners Directions: Lay out sentence strips and let children color the color of their choice. If using construction paper, pre-cut into strips that will fit around the students' head. Once they are finished coloring, turn the strip over and tape the pipe cleaners close to the middle. Then fit the paper to the students' head and tape in place. Let them curl the tips of the pipe cleaners in any shape they choose or even leave them straight. |
Life-Size Bugs
Add items for insect "Dress Up": Wings, Insect Glasses, and Masks.
Entomologist Lab
Add bug viewers, insects sealed in acrylic, magnifying glasses, tweezers, microscope, photos of insects, books about insects, clip boards and writing instruments, pretend insects, lab coats, silk flowers and photos of scientists at work.
Ant Colony
Bug Puppet Show
Going on A Bug Hunt
Bug Charades-Group Activity
Materials to add for an Insect Small World Play
Add Insect Patterns for pattern blocks.
Construct A Bug Habitat
Building Insects
Invite your preschoolers to create bug designs using pattern blocks. You can print off pattern block templates as examples and have them build on the template or beside the template or you can have them create a bug design all their own using the pattern blocks.
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*3-Part Insect Cards
Add 3-part cards (included in my Insects Activity Pack) to the activity shelf for learning insect nomenclature. Set out some pretend bugs for children to match-up to the cards.
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Label the Parts of an Insect*
Hang posters that include pictures of insects and vocabulary describing the different parts of insects.
Complete and then hang the Praying Mantis Life Cycle and Labeling Parts of a Praying Mantis included in my Insects Activity Pack for reference. |
Make -ug Words*
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Bug Name Writing Tray
Set up a letter writing tray with dirt. Provide plastic bugs or bug erasers. Students choose a bug, and use them to trace the letters in their names. Buy the editable name practice worksheets featured in this activity.
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Fly Swatter Sounds
In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Ultimate Bugopedia (National Geographic Kids) by Darlyne Murawski
Are You a Grasshopper? by Judy Allen
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs by Bob Barner
Bugs A-Z by Carolyn Lawton
Catch a Bug Shape Matching Game*
Sort buggy shapes into their same shaped jar to practice shape recognition and sorting skills. This activity is included in the Insects Preschool Activity Pack.
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Insect Count and Clip Cards*
Count up the number of ladybugs on the leaf, then find and identify the correct number and clip with a clothespin. Count and clip cards are not only great for math skills, but fine motor too!
This activity can be found inside our Insects Preschool Activity Pack. |
Insect Number Puzzle*
Practice ordering skills, number recognition, and problem-solving with an Insect Number puzzle.
This one is included in the Insects Preschool Activity Pack! |
Sorting InsectsGather 3 different types of plastic bugs and place in a bin. Place 3 empty containers next it to. Challenge preschoolers to use tweezers or scoops to sort the bugs (one type of bug per container). Give them an extra challenge by having them time how fast they can sort out all of the bugs only using the tools.
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Outdoor Bug ExplorationCreate a place for exploring insects outside. This fabulous outdoor bug exploration area belongs to reader Teresa Becker. Find more ideas on our Backyard Bug Investigation Blog post.
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Take a Closer LookWhen the time is taken to really look close and quietly observe, you can discover all kinds of creatures. The kids at Building Blocks Family Childcare found this ladybug in the pupal stage. During this stage the ladybug remains attached to the leaf which allowed observation over several days.
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Indoor Bug Habitat
Investigate Bugs
Flying and Non-Flying Insects
Sort bugs by flying and non-flying (printable included in my Insects Activity Pack) using photographs or insects or insect counters. Find other ways to sort insects!
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Build a Bug Hotel
Use materials found outside such as pine cones, sticks, leaves as well as cardboard to fill a cut off plastic bottle to create a bug hotel. Help your preschoolers find a place to put their bug hotel outside to give bugs a nice home! You want to make sure that items are packed in tightly enough to not fall out, but you want some small spaces between materials as this is where the bugs can make their homes.
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Measure Bug Biodiversity
Start with an empty flower pot, wooden box, or other large container that can be laid on it's side. Make layers using a variety of materials such as dead wood, straw, hay, leaves, bark, twigs, and fresh cut flowers. Come back to the bug hotel often to see what kind of creatures have checked in! As students are observing point out the different layers, see if different types of insects have checked into different types of materials. **Provide magnifying glasses and clipboards with pencils for observing and recording data about the bug hotel!
Make a graph or other record of the different types of bugs that visit the hotel. Look around the rest of the play area for other types of bugs, record those and discuss why they didn't visit the bug hotel (think about what those bugs need to thrive that are not offered in the bug hotel).
Bug Hunt.Go on a bug hunt! Gather clipboards, crayons, and magnifying classes then go on a walk or explore your outdoor play space to see what kind of creatures can be found! Students can record their data by writing or drawing a picture. Consider creating a simple checklist to go along with this activity.
It would be fun to collect the drawings or photos and create a Bug Hunt Class Book. |
Praying Mantis Activities
Watch a Praying Mantis Egg hatch (you can purchase them on-line or at your local garden center). Compliment this activity with one our Praying Mantis resources (Life Cycle and Labeling Activity) found inside our Insects Activity Pack.
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Save the Bugs- Fine Motor Activity
Place plastic bugs in the bottom of a tray that has openings on the side. Lace yarn or string through the openings to create a spider's web across the top of the tray. Have your preschoolers save the bugs from the spider's web by using tweezers to reach in and pull the bugs through openings in the yarn.
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Insect Play Dough Invitation-Fine Motor
Make your own Insect Lacing Cards-Fine Motor
Move Like a Bug- Gross Motor
Follow that Bug! Gross Motor
The Ants Go Marching Gross Motor
Bug Scavenger Hunt Gross Motor
Find the Insect Gross Motor
Respecting Space
There are many insects that do fine being handled. However, there are also many that are either too delicate to handle or that can harm a child.
Teaching children about the signs that an insect wants to be left alone is beneficial to bugs, and to their peers.
Invite your preschoolers to discuss: What can you do if someone is too close to you? How can you tell someone respectfully that you need space?
The Book Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader is a great tool to use while teaching children about respecting space.
Insect Yoga
Help your preschoolers practice mindfulness through insect themed yoga posts.
You can use this YouTube video as inspiration! |
Bug Journal
Bug Map
Buggy Emotions
Sharing Our Emotions
Class Spider Web
More Group Game Ideas
- Play Cootie or Ants in Pants
Theme Communication
Community Insect Biodiversity
Encourage families to share photographs of the creatures they found.
As a group you can take this information and compare which creatures each child found. All children are likely to find ants, children that have lots of flowers in their yard may find butterflies.
Print the pictures shared by parents.
Children can make comparisons about the insects in the photos. Swap photos, challenge children to find the insect on the photo they are given in their own backyard.
Insects Activity Pack
Exploring insects with young children is exciting. This preschool activity pack includes a variety of Math, Literacy, Fine Motor, and Science activities perfect for creating centers, file folder activities, or morning work for the preschool aged children in your care.
This 54 page .pdf contains the following 20 preschool insect themed activities:
- Bug Color Clip
- Catch a Bug Game
- Bug Shape Sort mats
- I spy bug matching
- Bug Puzzles
- Bug Cutting Practice
- Ladybug Letter Match
- Ladybug Count and Clip Cards
- Puzzles 1-10
- Firefly Counting Mats (1-10)
- Firefly Counting Mats (1-10) with Frames
- Lady Bug Spots Counting Mat
- Color Bug Sorting
- Bug Size Sorting
- Colored Ladybugs Pom Pom Match
- Praying Mantis Lifecycle Match Up
- Parts of a Praying Mantis
- 3-Part Cards
- Does it fly science sorting mat
Also included: TOS, Graphics Credit
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Spring Calendar Number Cards
This set of Calendar Cards is a versatile tool for early learning! Use these calendar number cards in your pocket chart calendar, or as a linear calendar for group calendar or math activities.
This set features several different Calendar Card Number designs to choose from all season long. Mix and match the themed numbers to create a variety of different patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, etc).
This 40-page PDF includes:
- Month Cards (Northern and Southern Hemisphere)
- Season Cards
- Year Cards
- Days of the Week
- Holidays and Special Days
- At Home/At School Heading Cards
Plus the following themed calendar number cards:
- Tulip Design
- Rainbow Design
- Umbrella Design
- Bunny Design
- Clover Design
- Bird/Nest Design
- Earth Design
- Butterfly Design
- Kite Design
- Blank Cover Cards
Also Included: Directions, TOS, Graphics Credit
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Spring Pattern Block Mats
Keep little fingers busy this spring with these fun Spring Pattern Block Mats. This 38-page PDF includes the following mats each with different mats to choose from depending on developmental level.
These mats include 3 different levels of play for each design
- Bee Mats
- Bird Mats
- Blossom
- Bug Mats
- Flower
- Tulip
- Watering Can
- Raindrop
- Umbrella
The symmetry butterflies includes 3 different butterfly designs with two levels of play for each.
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Free In the Tall Tall Grass Preschool Book Companion Set
Encourage a love of reading and some fine motor fun with this activity, perfect to pair with your Insect Theme. Your preschooler will build strong fingers and hands as they practice cutting the blades of grass for this easy to assemble craft. They will also enjoy peaking inside the grass to see all of the creatures living inside a backyard habitat.
Inside this PDF you will find:
- Vocabulary Words List
- Questions to ask before, during and after reading the featured read aloud
- Book Review Activity
- Grass Cutting Craft
Also included: TOS, Graphics Credit, Contact Information
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Log in and click here to download this product for free.
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