A CREEPY, CRAWLY DISCOVERY ACTIVITY

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Let’s dive into the world of bugs! Whimsical and educational book suggestions await, as well as facts about bugs for kids and a simple, yet effective sorting activity for your child to engage with what they have learned.

The best part of this bugs for kids activity is that you can change it and teach your child many different things about bugs. In addition, you can easily adapt it to suit varying ages in your homeschool. 

Why bugs spark endless curiosity in kids.

Children have an innate curiosity to understand the world around them. Usually that curiosity is focused on the natural world because it’s most easily accessible to youth. And since bugs are in great supply almost anywhere, it’s no surprise a child wishes to understand them more.

For example, bugs make their homes everywhere, under rocks, in fruit on a kitchen counter, and under the bark of a tree. In short, no matter where you are you’ll encounter bugs. And best of all these creatures come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and traits. In short, making them even more interesting!

A book list for learning about bugs for kids.

You’ll find books about bugs for kids that are educational or whimsical. Don’t dismiss the whimsical because these promote imagination and creativity, as well as providing facts about bugs in between the lines and in the illustrations.

Firstly, In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming is an excellent choice to begin a backyard tour. Next is a perfectly whimsical suggestion with absolutely beautiful illustrations, It Fell from the Sky by The Fan Brothers. If you have a little artist then the Usborne Magic Painting Bug Book by Abigail Wheatley is so fun. My kids love this series. It truly is magical!

Lastly, we use the book, DK Life Cycles Illustrated by Sam Falconer, a lot in our home. So many life cycles are represented in here that it is a must for homeschooling families.

Fun facts about bugs for kids to love.

Next up are facts about bugs! I’ve include fun ways to engage your child with the facts about bugs for kids. By doing this, you can help your child relate more with the information. Otherwise, a lot of the comparisons may be over their heads.

Dragonflies are fast fliers.

Firstly, dragonflies can fly faster than a bike. If you have a safe area to try this you can ride a bike while your child tries to race you. Once you easily out ride our child explain to them that you didn’t even make it to top speed!

Caterpillars melt.

Secondly, caterpillars melt inside their chrysalis and become a slimy mess before forming into a butterfly. Make some homemade slime with this recipe.

Honeybees have the moves.

Thirdly, honeybees dance, wiggle, and twirl to communicate to other honeybees where the best flowers with nectar are. Try setting up a treasure hunt where you give your kids clues that they need to remember in order to reach the destination. For example, 

Moths love the moon.

Moths will get dizzy around bright lights because they use the light of the moon to guide them. For this one you may need to go into a closet or dark room with them. Make sure that it’s pitch black. Wait as long as they will before venturing out into a room that is completely lit, and preferably has full sun. Then, encourage them to notice how disorienting the bright light can be.

Fireflies communicate in a secret code.

Just like a secret code, fireflies light up their body in specific patterns to communicate with other fireflies. Determine some basic phrases that you want to use such as hello, goodbye, I love you, thank you, I’m hungry, etc. Then, pair these phrases with a flashing light from a flashlight. Use morse code as inspiration. See if you can communicate from down a hallway or across a room without speaking. 

Grasshoppers have hops!

Next, grasshoppers can jump 20 times their length. If possible, have your child lay down and mark their length from head to toe. Do this with masking tape in a room or chalk on a sidewalk. Then, have them try to jump the length. Next, they need to lay down and mark as if there were two of them laying end to end. Now can they jump it? Not even close! Consider having 20 of them, what would that look like?

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Butterflies taste with their feet, just like we do with our tongues. Ask your child if they would like to taste their food with their feet.

Ants have super strength!

An ant can lift 50 times it’s own weight. See if your child can lift you, that’s probably at least 3 times their weight. Overall, it’s no where close to 50!

Crickets mimic a violin.

Crickets rub their wings together like a violin to make their chirping sounds. Ask your child to rub their hands together and then see if they can make noise.

Ladybugs are defenders!

Lastly, ladybugs are garden heroes because they can eat up to 50 tiny pests called aphids a day. Ask your child if they could eat 50 dinner rolls a day. If you’re up for it and you have a lot of dinner rolls. Bake them up with your child and see how many they can eat in one sitting. Once they start to feel full, ask them if they could make it to 50.

Bugs for kids sorting activity.

Materials needed.

Firstly, you’ll need an insect toy tube. This is one of the ones we have and it does a good job allowing me to create various sorting opportunities. In addition, grab a few, different colored construction papers. 

Instructions.

Next, grab the materials and then determine the sorting method you’re going to use. There are many sorting options but you should base it on the age of your child.

Here are a few to get you started. Sort the bugs based on color. Or by how they move (fly, crawl, walk). Maybe based on how they eat, to explore this idea more check out the post, how insects eat. Or sort the bugs based on how they communicate. 

Once you know how you will sort them it’s time to set up the game. Have your child go into another room while you hide the bug toys throughout the living room. Place the construction paper on a table that is central to the activity. The number of papers you need is based on the number of categories the bugs can be sorted into. 

For example, there are three ways insects eat. You’ll want three different sheets of construction paper. Or if there are five primary colors represented on the bug toys, you’ll have five colors of construction paper. 

Call your child back into the room and explain that they’re sorting bugs based on the sorting traits you’ve determined. Also, what trait matches with which color of construction paper. Let the hunt begin! Help your child sort a bug after they find it. 

Beyond sorting: more adventures with bugs for kids.

Do you simply have a bug fanatic? If your child loves everything creepy, crawley then they will love the mini-unit study on Insects. The activities are for ages 3-7. Check it out here, Ii is for Insect.

Bugs for kids and big ideas that grow.

Nurture a curiosity for the natural world with play based learning activities about bugs for kids. Make a complete lesson by reading books, learning interesting facts, and utilizing sorting activities. Overall, your child is going to learn while playing. Although bugs are small, they create big ideas for kids.