Buggy about Insects!

Last week we studied bugs - insects, and NOT spiders, thank goodness!  Our reading series, Treasures, does a really good job of incorporating science themes into the weekly activities.  Kinders are naturally drawn to the creepy crawlies, so I planned a number of buggy activities to extend our learning.  In addition to the pictured items, we learned a chant to help us to remember the life cycle of a butterfly, and a little ditty to remember the body parts of an insect.

Life Cycle Chant

Eggs, larva, pupa, adult! (clap)

Repeat as desired.  :)

Buggy Body Parts

(Sung to Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes)

Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen,

Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen,

Eyes, antennae, three pairs of legs,

Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen!

After singing the song several times and looking at pictures of real insects, the students drew and labeled their own insects.  I'm very impressed with their work!

Word Bug.  By listening and following directions my kiddos made these cute bugs.

We brainstormed -ug family words to write onto our bugs, but you could have your students write sight words, insect facts, a poem, etc. on them.  They really liked the hinged wings!

Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult!  We made these lift the flap books to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly.

Painted Ladies.  Well, almost...  My Kinders used a sponge painting & folding technique to create these beauties.  They were amazed at how the design appeared onto the other side when they folded the butterfly.  Tip:  to avoid muddy colored bugs, only use paint colors that make something nice  (I didn't put out any green paint).