Are you starting an insect theme in your preschool classroom or homeschool? Keep reading for the most interesting Busy Bugs & Insects preschool activities around!
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BUSY BUGS & INSECTS PRESCHOOL ACTIVITIES
One of the most captivating themes to teach (whether you’re homeschooling or teaching in a preschool or kindergarten classroom) is Busy Bugs & Insects. Little ones are filled with curiosity when learning about and participating in activities about different bugs! They love examining them and watching them go about their lives, and they want to know why bugs act the way they do. This curiosity leads to interactive play and STEM exploration, so let’s get ready to enter the insect world and build new skills!
Keep reading for over 30 insect activities for your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students. These ideas include literacy, math, fine and gross motor skills, art, and more. Grab your printables for math & literacy here. Oh, and there’s a freebie, too!
If you want a copy of my yearly themes (including an editable version where you can type in your own themes), check out this freebie. (*Please note: You will need to download this file to your computer and then open it with Adobe in order to add your own themes. You cannot add your themes from your web browser.)
BUGS & INSECTS ACTIVITIES: LITERACY
Before you get started with your insect theme, make sure you have your books all ready to go! You can check out our favorite books for this theme in this post. There are over 30 books for you to choose from! Make sure to request these from your local library (or order them from Amazon) a few weeks before you start your theme.
You’re definitely going to want to start your bugs & insects theme with these vocabulary cards! Do your littles know what a lightning bug looks like? Have they ever seen a caterpillar? Do they know what a microscope is used for? These cards are the perfect way to introduce your little ones to the 15 insect-related words they’ll be learning about over the course of this theme. You can use these vocabulary cards in your writing center or in a Write the Room activity, where they will choose a vocabulary card, say the word, and match it to the picture on the activity page. If they are ready, they will write the word on the line.
“Color the Room” is a variation of “Write the Room,” where you hide the vocabulary word cards around the room for your little ones to look for in a scavenger hunt. After finding the cards, have them match the picture card to the picture on the activity page. They can choose to color the matching picture or simply circle it. This is a great variation for little ones who aren’t ready to write the words on their own yet.
This is a great activity that can be used to practice recognizing compound words. Your little ones will choose a word card and determine if it is a compound word or not, and then they will place it in the correct jar. For more interactive fun, little ones can try to count the syllables in each word by clapping or stomping to each syllable as they read the word. The can also put the word cards in ABC order.
In this activity, your little ones will be working with word family endings and finding the beginning letters that finish the words that match the pictures on the card. Point out that these different word families make words that rhyme with each other. You may have to help them with what the pictures are trying to show (an answer key is included!) If they are able, have them write the word they made.
This is a good activity to work on fine motor skills since your littles will be using scissors and glue to complete their books. You can show your little ones a YouTube video about the life cycle of a bee. Then they can make their books by cutting along the dotted lines, folding the paper in half, and gluing the four stages of a bee’s life underneath. Have them tell you about the stages while flipping through the pictures.
This board game is a playful way to work on letter names, letter sounds, and even CVC words! Your little one can do one or more of these activities depending on their skill level. Of course, whoever reaches the butterfly first wins the game!
After reviewing syllables, little ones will be listening for and determining how many syllables there are in the names of different pictures. Then they will choose the homemade magnifying glass with that number of syllables on it to observe the card. The picture cards can be put around the room or in a sensory bin to help them feel like real scientists. If you have small bug toys, they can study and count the syllables in the bugs’ names as well.
We all know how important it is for little ones to the master the alphabetic principle in order to set a strong foundation for reading. In this activity, your child will work on this skill by matching the letters on the bees to the letters on the flowers. This set includes uppercase flowers, uppercase bees, lowercase flowers, and lowercase bees. You can work on letter identification and sounds with this, or you could use the letters to spell high-frequency words or CVC words. You could also play a game of Go Fish or Memory Reinforcement is key to proficiency. Here’s a link to this activity which is included in the Spring Activities post.
These bee letters are so handy to use during your bugs and insects theme…they can be used in so many ways! Your little ones can match upper and lower case letters in Memory or Go Fish games. They can also make CVC words and write them on paper or try putting the letters in ABC order. They can also find objects around the room that begin with each letter sound. The possibilities for using these cards are endless!
Compound words are a fun skill for littles ones, and this activity is sure to be a hit! Have your child find the two flies that go together to create a compound word (like “foot” and “ball”). Then have them swat the compound word on the picture mat (they can use the printable fly swatter I included in this pack or a toy one made for kids). The link for this activity is included in my Spring Activities post.
I love teaching rhyming to little ones, but it can be a tough skill to master. This activity asks students to match the two rhyming words together to form a butterfly. Working on rhyming skills is so helpful for phonological awareness, which is another crucial step for reading development and one that can’t be overlooked! If they match them correctly, the butterfly will be one color. Make sure to them say the words so they can hear the rhymes. Can they tell you more words that also rhyme? The link for this activity is included in my Spring Activities post.
BUGS & INSECTS ACTIVITIES: MATH
These bee number cards can be used in so many ways to reinforce number recognition. Your little ones can count manipulatives underneath each bee, make addition and subtraction problems, or play Memory or Go Fish. They could also choose a number card to tell them how many of a certain exercise (such as squats or lunges) they need to do! The possibilities for using these cards are endless!
This activity has your little ones learning about repeating patterns such as AB, ABC, AAB, ABB, and ABCD. Use motions like snapping, clapping, jumping, and stomping to help them understand how patterns work. Then they will choose a colored circle card and recreate the pattern on the caterpillar with colored pom poms (or other small maipulatives). Can they create their own patterns for you to copy?
Ten Frames are great for little ones to practice counting up to 10. They will choose a butterfly card, count the butterflies, and place pom poms or small manipulatives on the ten frame to match. If they are ready, they can write the number in the box. Another possibility is to make a second Ten Frame and use it to practice addition and subtraction problems for more advanced littles.
Another way to use the butterfly cards from the previous activity is to have your little ones count the butterfly pictures and place the correct number on the card. Can they also put the cards in numerical order?
After reviewing different shapes with your little ones, they will choose a fly card that has a shape in the corner and swat the card with the flyswatter of the same shape. Have them say the name of the shape as they swat it. You may have to help them with the names of the less common shapes. How fast can they find and swat the matches?
Subitizing is an important skill for little ones to learn. It’s the ability to look at a number of items and recognize how many there are without having to count each one individually. This YouTube video can help to explain subitizing. When they are ready, have your little one roll a dice and see how fast they can say the number. Then, they can color in that many circles on the ladybug. Have them add a face and name their ladybug using alliteration (like Lola Ladybug) and hang it up for all to see!
This activity has your little ones counting the body/leg segments of the caterpillar on the picture cube and matching it to the pictures at the bottom of the activity page. They will mark or place a small manipulative in the box above the correct picture. After a few turns, can they recognize how many segments the caterpillar has without counting each one (which is called subitizing). Which one will make it to the top first to become a butterfly? Maybe they can hypothesize which one will win before playing the game!
There are several ways this activity can be used. Little ones can match the number cards to the butterfly cards with the same number of dots on the wings. You can also have them roll a dice to tell them which butterfly to match or solve simple math problems and match up the cards of the answer. Another possibility is to talk about odd and even numbers, showing little ones that even-numbered butterflies have the same number of dots on each wing while odd-numbered butterflies do not. Finally, have them put the competed puzzles in numerical order.
You might want to review number bonds with this YouTube video before staring this activity. Little ones will be finding different sets of numbers that add up to 10. Reinforce that part+part= a whole number. They can count out small manipulatives such as pom poms or legos to help them. They can also use this activity to work on subtraction problems.
This is another activity that gives your little ones more practice on counting items according to the number card. They will choose a leaf card, count the number of ladybugs on the leaf, and place that number card on the board. Finally, they will place red pom poms (or any red manipulatives that will stand for ladybugs) on the large leaf. You can also give them an addition or subtraction problem to solve and use the answer to place “ladybugs” on the leaf.
How cute are these little bees? This fun math activity has little ones matching the number on the beehive to the correct number of bees. This is great for practicing one-to-one correspondence up to 20. The link for this activity is included in my Spring Activities post.
This is another spring literacy activity that’s perfect for your bugs & insects theme! Size order cards are always a big hit with little ones. Ask them to put the bees in order from biggest to smallest (or smallest to biggest)! Increase the engagement by adding these cards to a sensory bin or hide them around the room for a scavenger hunt!
BUSY BUGS AN INSECTS: HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, AND SNACKS
These are adorable crafts that your little ones will enjoy making! For the butterfly, they will paint a toilet paper roll for the body, trace their hands on construction paper and cut them out, add eyes, pipe cleaner antennae, and a smile. For the ladybug, they will cut a paper plate in half that has been colored red, glue on a circle for the face that has eyes and a smile, and add pipe cleaner antennae. They can glue black beans on or simply use black marker to draw the black spots.
Painting rocks is a great activity to stimulate little ones’ imaginations! Have a variety of paints available for them to use on different sizes of smooth river rocks and be amazed at what they create!
One of my all-time favorite things to do is combine stories with thematic snacks to boost kids’ love of reading. Research has found these storytime snacks help our little ones associate positive feelings with reading, which is exactly what we want, especially in the younger years. These are all great snacks made to look like bugs, insects, and flowers. Here’s the link for the instructions for these snack ideas!
Little ones LOVE sensory play, and this will certainly be a favorite! The creamy foam is a mix of dish soap, water, and food color that is whipped up in a blender. You can make different colored batches easily and add plastic bugs and insects to stimulate their imaginations! This is definitely good, clean fun!
Kids love using play dough because it’s fun, but adults know play dough is more than fun…it builds up the muscles in little hands, fingers, & wrists, which helps with fine motor & handwriting. This activity includes both a ladybug life cycle play dough mat and a butterfly life cycle play dough mat.
These FREE posters go along perfectly with the play dough mats mentioned above! They’re a great way for your little ones to learn about the life cycles of a butterfly, a ladybug, and a bee. They can look for the similarities and differences of the different cycles.
This activity (along with all of our freebies!) can be downloaded from the Free Activity Library. If you’re already a member of our email community, you can click HERE to head to the Free Activity Library, enter your password (it’s on your most current email from me), and download your copy!
If you’d like to join our email community & receive the password as my way of saying THANK YOU for joining, you can click HERE to subscribe. Once you enter your information, the password will be emailed to you within minutes.
Here’s another FREE life cycle printable your little one will love! This activity is part of my blog post for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You can download this freebie from that post!
This is a simple caterpillar craft for younger little ones. Have green and red circles cut out for them to glue on paper to look like a caterpillar. Use black pipe cleaners for legs and antennae. Don’t forget to give the caterpillar eyes and a mouth! Then make sure to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and see if your little one recognizes their caterpillar craft in the story!
This is another caterpillar craft, but it is a bit more complicated to make.
- Cut an egg carton in half so it only has 6 egg compartments. This will be the body of the caterpillar.
- Have your little one paint the egg carton. Set aside to dry.
- When the egg carton is dry, flip it over (so the bottom of the egg carton is facing the sky)
- Glue googly eyes to the first egg compartment and add pipe cleaner antennae.
- Now your child has their very own caterpillar!
This is a yummy snack to go along with learning about bees. All you need is some chocolate and vanilla pudding that is layered in a glass to resemble the body of a bee. Add some whipped cream for more deliciousness. Have your little ones buzz like a bee between bites!
For these scrumptious bee stingers, you need large pretzel rods, white and brown chocolate candy melts, and maybe some chocolate sprinkles. Melt the candy and dip the ends of the pretzels into it and add sprinkles. These treats will definitely not sting when eating them! Enjoy!
This is another yummy snack that goes along with your bugs & insects theme (although technically worms are not bugs or insects…but they are creepy crawly invertebrates!) You will need milk, chocolate pudding mix, thawed whipped topping, crushed chocolate cookies, and gummy worms. The directions for this treat are included in my Earth Day post. This is dirt that you won’t have to tell your little ones not to eat!
Caterpillar hatching kits allow little ones to observe the life cycle of a caterpillar up close. Little ones LOVE to check on them everyday to see the changes!
This spring sensory bin is filled with potting soil and small plastic bugs. It will allow your little ones to pretend to be scientists examining the insect world in their environment!
*Important Warning: If you choose to use potting soil, please know that it can contain microorganisms, pesticides, and other potential hazards, so it’s important to take precautions when handling it:
- Never let your child put potting soil in their mouth.
- Make sure they don’t have any cuts on their hands that could get infected when playing with the soil.
- Have them wash their hands immediately after using this sensory bin.
INCREDIBLE INSECTS PRESCHOOL STORYTIME
Looking for some screen time you can feel good about? Head over to my YouTube channel and have your little one watch my Incredible Insects storytime! This storytime is filled with songs, finger plays, and of course…stories! We also focus on the letter and sound for “Ii” as in “insect.” Click here to watch and keep the fun going for your busy bugs & insects theme!
BUGS & INSECTS PRESCHOOL & PRE-K FUN
I hope these ideas helped you fill-in your Bugs & Insects lesson plans for your preschool classroom or homeschool! All of the printables for this unit can be found in my Bugs & Insects Preschool Activity Pack.
What types of bugs & insects preschool activities do you plan for your littles? Do you have any fun activities that would be great to add to this list? Comment below or find me on Instagram [@littleslovelearningblog] and let me know!
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Happy Learning!
