Bugs, Insects, Preschool Learning Activities

Bugs & Insects

This theme explores Butterfly’s, Bumblebee’s, Caterpillars, Worms, Ladybugs, Spiders, Fly’s and all sorts of other creepy crawlies. I’m getting the jitters just thinking about it.

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Resource: Art
BUG SPLATTER ____________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of All Ages

Theme word: Entomologist. (en-tuh-MAH-kluh-jist) An Entomologist is someone who studies insects.

Resource: Snack
ANTS ON A LOG ____________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of All Ages
Comments: Be sure to check for Peanut Allergies

Fun Facts about bugs & insects:
* Insects account for around 83% of all animal life on the planet.
* Some scientists estimate that we have identified only 10% of the insect world so far.
* The Beetle family alone contains some 350,000 different known species.
* In the Amazon rainforest, there are millipedes that squirt cyanide. Yikes!
* In some areas of the earth there are metal-eating earthworms, who munch on toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and copper; elements that would be poisonous to human. These worms reside in abandoned mines in England & Whales.

Language / Fine Motor
BUG THEME SPELLING WORKSHEET

Good writing practice for younger kids and spelling practice for emergent readers.

Ages: Pre-K to Second Grade

Fun facts about bees:
* A bee's brain is smaller than the period at the end of sentence.
* Honeybees have about 1 million neurons in their brain, which may seem like a lot, but consider that you have about one million times that in your own brain. Yet bees and humans are among only a handful of species that form large, complex societies.
* Bees have 2 big eyes on the side of their head, and 3 smaller ones on the top.
* Bees have 2 antennae, which they use in their sense of smell. Bees have a very strong sense of smell, but a very bad sense of taste.
* The poison sac in the stinger pumps poison for up to 20 minutes after a sting, which is why the stinger should always be removed. But if you think you have it bad, the bee is in worse shape. It dies after stinging you.
* Each bee hive has one queen (big mama bee), about 500 male drones (boy bees, often servants to the queen), and up to 50,000 sterile female workers (girl worker bees who can't have babies). Bee babies are born from larvae laid by the queen.

Related curriculum: Give the kids a chance at reverse societal role play, by having them set up a hive in the D.P. area. Have girls take turns being the queens, while the boys serve her and the other girls play worker bees.

* Plants come in boys and girls as well. But since male and female plants can't get up and go find a lady to mate with, they rely on bees to help. When a bee visits a flower, they collect pollen, which then gets spread around to the other flowers they visit. This is called "pollination," and it's what allows many plants to reproduce and causes many fruits and vegetables to grow.
* Honey bees are responsible for pollinating one-third of all the foods we eat. Some things that rely on Honeybee's for pollination: Oranges, grapes, apples, watermelons, cucumbers, almonds, squash, cherries, flowers, pears, strawberries, raspberries, and even many ingredients used in all-natural ice creams. So the next time you eat a piece of watermelon, be sure to thank the bees.

Related curriculum: Have a 'Honeybee appreciation tasting party,' and bring in different foods made possible by honeybees for the kids to sample.

* Over the past 50 years, the honeybee population has been cut in half, due to pesticides and other natural causes.
* Bees are more than 100 million years old, but they may soon get an upgrade.
Scientists have recently cracked their gene sequence, and are talking about manufacturing a stronger, sturdier bee. Can you say: "Superbee to the rescue" Who knows, maybe they can make one without a stinger?

Language / Cognitive
BUG WORD MATCHING WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for whole-word sounds.
Ages: Pre-K to Kindergarten

Did you know ...
Honey has natural metabolic balancing effects; it can help heal damaged or sensitive skin. Some people even take baths in honey for this reason. You can make your own honey-based skin lotion, either in the classroom or at home. Simply combine 1 teaspoon each of the following ingredients: honey, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and stir together. (Scale up for classroom size or let each child make their own batch.) After the kids have tried it on their skin, have a discussion about how it feels.

Language
BUG MISSING LETTER WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for beginning sounds.
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

Did you know ...
Bees use a "waggle dance" to communicate to other bees, telling them about a potential site they've found for a new hive. They go out searching for places with good food and/or a nice place to live, and then come back and do the waggle dance to tell other bees about the best site they found. The longer and more excited the dance, the better the site. Meanwhile, other scouts come back and do their waggle dances too. The bees then decide who found the best site based on who did the best waggle dance, and follow him to their new home.

Related curriculum: Create your own version of the waggle dance in the classroom by setting out gold, yellow and black streamers and having the kids create their own waggle dances.

Art / Fine Motor
PRINTABLE BUTTERFLY STENCIL

A page of butterflies, some pre-patterned, some blank for the kids to decorate. Great for art projects, collages, or even to color yourself and use as a classroom decoration.

Ages: Pre-K and up

Printable Coloring Sheets / Coloring Book Pages:
G is for Grasshopper

Did you know ...
Bumblebees search for flower petals that offer traction. Some petals are smooth and slippery, but others have cone-shaped cells that act like velcro when bees touch down. Bees like it because they can guzzle more nectar. Flowers do it because longer visits by bees help the pollination process.

We’re adding new activities to our list every month, so if you didn’t find what you needed, be sure to check back!