• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

PreKinders

Ideas for Pre-K & Preschool Teachers

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use
  • Help
    • Printing Help
  • Shop
  • Learning Areas
    • Literacy
    • Math
    • Science
    • Art
    • Music
    • Fine Motor
    • Christian Activities
  • Themes
  • Teaching Ideas
    • Centers
    • Teaching Tips
    • Assessment
    • Back to School
    • End of Year
  • Printables
    • Literacy Printables
    • Math Printables
    • Science Printables
    • Music Printables
    • Visual Discrimination Printables
    • Classroom Management Printables

Bugs Theme

By Karen Cox | Affiliate Disclosure | Filed Under: Bug Theme

Pre-K & Preschool theme ideas for learning about bugs: insects and spiders

Bug Insect Activities for Pre-K, Preschool

Find more Bug Activities for Pre-K

Books



Bug Books for Children

Check here for a complete list of Books about Bugs!

Bug Large Motor Games

Flight of the Bumblebee

We play a game with this song by passing a beanbag (the “bee”) like a hot potato around the circle of children while the music played. Occasionally, I stop the music, which means the person with the beanbag is “stung” and moves to the middle of the circle.
The Tale of the Tzar Saltan: Flight of the Bumblebee ~ Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Here’s an example (from Amazon) of a bee finger puppet that can be used as the “hot potato”:

Bug Fine Motor Skills

Play Dough Bugs

We place strips of green construction paper (for grass) in some small bug boxes (available at the Dollar Tree). Children make model bugs with play dough to put in the boxes.

Bug Fine Motor

Butterfly Lacing Cards

To make these, I traced a butterfly outline onto old file folders, cut them out, and punched holes around the edge. The children use yarn to lace through the holes, and decorate them with markers.

Butterfly Lacing Art Project

Bug Art Activities

Egg Carton Ants

Children paint an egg carton (cut so that each child had 3 egg cups for the 3 body parts) with their choice of either red, brown, or black paint. We add wiggle eyes and pipe cleaner pieces for the antennae and legs.

Cocoon & Butterfly

We talk about the life cycle of a butterfly, and make a cocoon with a toilet paper tube and white yarn. We decorate a clothespin with pom poms to look like a caterpillar and put it inside the cocoon. Another day, we paint a coffee filter with watercolor paints. When it is time for the butterfly to come out of the cocoon, the butterfly “wings” are then clipped in the clothespin caterpillar.

Butterfly Science and Art Project

Egg Carton Bugs

We make bugs using half of a cardboard egg carton, paint, wiggle eyes, pom-pom balls, and other materials.

Egg Carton Bugs

Click Beetle

This clothespin art activity goes with the book, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, by Eric Carle. You can read about this activity at the Eric Carle Caterpillar Exchange.

Click Beetle Art Project

Bug Literacy Activities

Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Retelling

The Very Hungry Caterpillar foods are made from construction paper, and are strung on a green ribbon “caterpillar”. The children try to sequence the story from memory. Read more about this idea at Eric Carle’s Caterpillar Exchange.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Activity

Story Retelling

This is an activity that goes with any theme. Choose a book that goes with the theme, and have the children retell the story.
Read the blog post here for details: story retelling

Bug Twins

Children are given a simple bug outline. This is not a color sheet, the page only has 3 circles. They work in pairs to create bugs that are the same (“bug twins”). One child has the role of communicator and one child had the role of listener. The communicator adds features to the bug by drawing & coloring, and communicates each step to a partner. The partner listens and adds the same features to the bug without seeing the other child’s paper. This project helps with communication skills, listening, following directions, and cooperation.

Bug Cooperative Activity

Bug Bingo Stamping Game

Read about and print the Bug Bingo Game here.

Bug Bingo Game

Ladybug Roll & Write Game

Print and find directions here: Roll & Write Games

Ladybug Roll & Write Game

Bug Math Activities

Butterfly Patterns

We use butterfly counters to make color patterns. The children also make their own pattern with paper butterfly cutouts (I used the small craft punchers to cut the butterflies).
Printable Grid Pattern Paper

Butterfly Patterns

Counting Flies

As gross as it sounds, children are fascinated by this game. Each child has a handful of 8 plastic flies. They throw them onto the table, and count how many flies are dead (on their backs) and how many flies are alive (on their feet).

Bug Counting Game

Sorting by Sizes

We use three sizes of craft pom poms (our pretend fuzzy bugs) to sort by size into different sized containers.

Bug Size Sorting

Bug Counting Book

We make a bug counting book by stamping bug stamps on each page of the book. The words to the book are:
1 bug,
2 bugs,
3 bugs,
4; Those were good, but I want more!
5 bugs,
6 bugs,
7 bugs,
8; The big fat juicy ones taste just great!”

Bug Counting Book

Bug Pattern Block Mats

Read about and print here: Pattern Block Mat Printables. (Go to this page and look for the caterpillar, butterfly, bee, & dragonfly mats.)

Bug Pattern Block

Ladybug Grid Game

Read about about print here: Grid Games

Bug Grid Game

Bug Science Activities

Bug Nature Walk

We go on a nature walk to search for bugs, and draw observational pictures of bugs we find.

bug nature walk

Bug Cooking Activities

Ant Hill

Children make an edible ant hill in a cup. We used a clear punch cup so the children could see the layers they added to their dessert. First they put a layer of chocolate pudding into the cup for the “dirt”. Then, they crushed up graham crackers in a plastic ziploc bag and poured the crumbs into the cup for the anthill “sand”. Last, they added chocolate chips for the “ants” (you could also substitute raisins instead of chocolate chips).

Ant Hill Snack

More

Picnic Prop Box

Include: Blanket, Picnic basket, Paper plates & cups, Play food

Color Bugs Printable Book

This book can be printed or projected as a slideshow. Go to the Printable Books page to download.

Color Bugs Printable Book

Bee Hive Fingerplay

Here is the bee hive
(Cup hands together)
Where are the bees?
(Peek into hive)
Hidden away where nobody sees.
(Hide hive behind back)
Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive.
(Bring hive back out front)
1…2…3…4…5…BUZZ!
(Open fingers one by one. Fingers become the buzzing bees)

Rhymes

Nursery rhymes that go well with a Bug Theme:

  • Here is the Beehive
  • Little Miss Muffet

Look for printable posters of these rhymes on the Nursery Rhymes Page.

Songs

  • Spider on the Floor, by Raffi (Download on Amazon or iTunes)
  • The Buggy Wuggy Song, by Mrs. Jones
  • The Insect Song, by Mrs. Jones
  • I’m a Butterfly, by Mrs. Jones
  • Life of a Butterfly, by Mrs. Jones
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Mrs. Jones
  • Ants Go Marching at Mrs. Jones’ Room
  • The Ants Go Marching: traditional song
  • Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee: traditional song
  • Shoo Fly: traditional song
  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider: traditional song

Find more Bug Activities for Pre-K

Links

  • Insects @ Pre-KPages.com
  • Bugs on the Sticky Table @ Teach Preschool
  • Bug Fossils @ No Time For Flash Cards
  • Ladybug Math Craftivity @ No Time For Flash Cards

In My Shop

April Math Journals for Pre-K
Bug Theme Printables
Ladybug Life Cycle

Resources


Get FREE updates!
Join here to get weekly emails with free printables and activities for Pre-K!
We collect, use, and process your data according to our Privacy Policy.
Don't worry - we never sell or share email addresses!

About Karen Cox

Karen is the founder of PreKinders.com. She also works as a full-time Pre-K teacher in Georgia. Read more...

Primary Sidebar

Visit My Shop! 

Welcome!

Glad you're here! You'll find hands-on learning activities, themes, and printables for Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten kids. I'm Karen Cox, a Pre-K teacher in Georgia. I have taught 4-5 year olds for 20+ years! Read More…

Before Footer

WE BELIEVE IN HANDS-ON, ACTIVE, & PLAYFUL LEARNING TO INSPIRE YOUNG MINDS

Serving Pre-K teachers, parents, & kids worldwide since 2000

Get Our Free Weekly Newsletter

  • Contact
  • Free Updates
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · PreKinders.com

Get FREE weekly updates!
Join here to get weekly emails with free printables and activities for Pre-K!
We collect, use, and process your data according to our Privacy Policy.
Don't worry - we never sell or share email addresses!
Get FREE updates!
Join here to get weekly emails with free printables and activities for Pre-K!
We collect, use, and process your data according to our Privacy Policy.
Don't worry - we never sell or share email addresses!