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The theme of this weeks preschool was bugs. It was easy to get Batman interested. I mean, let’s be honest, the majority of 2 & 3 year olds LOVE bugs, whether they be boys or girls. So why not let them play and discover the world around them with something they are already fascinated by.
So here it is, a week filled with “bug” adventures:
Activities
Look for Bugs
This is such an easy activity to fit in, anytime, almost anywhere. Are you out for a walk? Look down at the ground and see what’s crawling around. Are you in the backyard? That’s a bug oasis.
Look in the garden, the flower beds, on the trees, the sidewalk, you might even discover them just flying around you. You can use a magnifying glass to get a closer look, or just use the naked eye. Let you preschooler find them and then identify the bugs if they aren’t able to.
Rock Ladybugs
Another fun art project with paint. All you need is paint, a paint brush, and a rock. I simply picked up some rock that were mostly round and smooth from the yard. Put a base coat of red on the rock and then add some black dots. Let your preschooler use their imagination and see what kind of ladybug they create.
Play-dough Fossils
Oh, play-dough, how I love you and hate you at the same time! I love play-dough because of the creativity that it encourages in young minds. But, let’s be honest, it can make such a mess. The nice thing about it is it’s relatively inexpensive, non-toxic, and their are so many recipes out there to make your own.
Whether you use store bought or homemade, this activity will work. Start by having your preschooler help roll out and smash the play-dough down into disc-like blobs. Then grab some plastic bugs and push them into the play-dough. When the plastic bugs are removed you have an imprinted fossil to save, look at for a while, or (if your preschoolers like my Batman) to simply to smash and start over.
Butterfly Match
I found this Butterfly Matching Game from Prekinders to use for this activity, you should really check it out. I printed out 2 copies of each sheet on cardstock, laminated them and cut them out. Know I have 18 butterfly matches that will last a long time. Batman loved finding discovering the matches. As an added bonus, we were able to practice our colors by matching the blue with blue, yellow with yellow, etc.
Bug/Insect Trait Sorting
For this activity you can use the same plastic bugs that you used for the play-dough activity, or you can print out pictures of bugs like the butterfly game. Either way, there are endless ways to sort the bugs:
- wings/no wings
- number of legs
- color
- antennae/no antennae
- size
Counting Ladybug Folder Game
A little while back, my sister gave me a stack of file folder games that she had used with her kids. One of them was this ladybug game to help with numbers, similar to this one here. The preschooler/kindergartner can match the number on the lady bug with the number of dots on another ladybug. I love this game because they not only practice recognizing numbers but they practice counting as well.
Supply List
- Magnifying Glass
- Rocks
- Paint
- Paint Brushes
- Play-dough
- Plastic Bugs
- Paper
- Butterfly Match Game
- File Folder Ladybug Game (or your own variation)
Suggested Books
- I Love Bugs by Emma Dodd
- I Love Bugs by Philemon Sturges
- 10 Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Songs
The Ants Go Marching
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah.
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah.
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb.
And they all go marching down,
To the ground, to get out, of the rain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
…two…tie her shoe…
…three….climb a tree…
…four…shut the door…
…five…take a dive…
…six…pick up sticks…
…seven…pray to heaven…
…eight…check the gate…
…nine…check the time…
…ten…say “The End!”
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs
I like bugs, bugs, bugs, buggy bugs. Bugs!
like bugs, bugs, bugs, buggy bugs. Bugs!
I like the honeybees and butterflies.
I like the crickets for their shiny eyes.
I like the ants and grasshoppers, too.
I like all the bugs. How about you?
I like the caterpillars and ladybugs.
I like to watch them crawling on the leaves.
I like the spiders and dragonflies.
I really like them. How about you, guys?
I like bugs, bugs, bugs, buggy bugs. Bugs!
I like bugs, bugs, bugs, buggy bugs. BUGS!
PinkFong Songs
Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain
and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Snack Ideas
Ants on a log
I remember loving this snack when I was little. It’s a great way to introduce celery to your preschooler. Most little ones love peanut butter, so smear some on a piece of celery, sprinkle some raisins on top and you have a healthy, bug themed snack. Even if all your little one does is lick the peanut butter off of the celery, they have been exposed to something new.
Grape Caterpillars
Such a simple, but themed snack. Line up some grapes on a skewer or toothpick with broken pretzel pieces for antennae. If you want you can use a cherry tomato for the head, or leave it as all grapes. Mini chocolate chips make great eyes that can be stuck on with whipped cream or frosting. Just be careful that your child doesn’t choke on the whole grapes.
Worms in Dirt
This is such a fun snack, and easy to have your preschooler help with. Smash up some chocolate sandwich cookies. Make up some chocolate pudding and mix in some of the crushed up cookies. Scoop the pudding into clear plastic cups (this is so that you can see the dirt) and sprinkle more crushed up cookies on top. Then top with gummy worms and you have delicious tasting edible worms and dirt.
Tot School
Playing with Play-dough
This is a great sensory activity for little ones. Play-dough has a different feel then a lot of things tots around age 1 usually play with. They can smash it, mold it into different shapes, throw it, or simply poke at it. Just make sure to keep a close eye on your little one. Play-dough may be non-toxic but you still don’t want them to eat it.b
