Well this theme can be a fun one, unless you are squeamish around bugs. The kids always enjoy watching live bugs, whether that is butterflies hatching or lighting bugs flashing. Don't forget to have the magnifying glass near them.
Art Activities
Books
Songs/Fingerplays
Center/Misc Ideas
Caterpillar
Use just less than half of mandarin orange to paint the different sections of a caterpillar. Paint a red head with the other half of the orange and add antenna
Toe Caterpillar
Paint the toes of one foot green and put them on a leaf that you have either cut out or done a leaf rubbing from or did a paint print from. .
Egg Carton Caterpillar
Cut an egg carton down the middle and have the children paint 5 of the segments green and the head red. Use purple pipe cleaner for the antennae and glue 2 eyes on it.
Large Wall Caterpillar
Let each child tear bits of green tissue paper to glue on top of a large green painted circle. Make a red circle for the head. Add eyes and purple antennae on it.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
OH I WISH I WERE A WIGGLY CATERPILLAR
Tune: If You're Happy And You Know It
Oh, I wish I were a wiggly caterpillar.
Oh, I wish I were a wiggly caterpillar.
I'd go "munchy-munchy-munchy."
All the leaves would be so "crunchy"!
Oh, I wish I were a wiggly caterpillar.
Verses: itsy-bitsy spider, "creepy-creepy-crawly" down your hall and up your "wall-y!"
yellow honeybee, "buzzy-buzzy-buzzy" and my stripes would all be fuzzy!
FUZZY CATERPILLAR
The fuzzy caterpillar curled up on a leaf.
Spun her little chrysalis and then fell fast asleep.
While she was sleeping, she dreamed that she could fly.
And later when she woke up, she was a butterfly.
All around, all around.
Insects In The Discovery Table
Put a bunch of plastic insects in the discovery table. You can add dirt or sand so the kids can bury them underneath.
Coffee Filter Butterflies
Dampen a coffee filter by spraying it with water and paint with water colors or water color markers. After it is dry, use a clip clothes pin for the body and add pipe cleaner antennae and draw a face on it.
Paper Towel Butterflies
I have also seen butterflies made out of plain white paper towels that have been dampened and decorated with water markers. Then you wrap the middle with a pipe cleaner leaving enough for antenna curled at the ends.
Footprint Butterflies
Paint the children's feet and place the footprint down with the arch and big toe facing out. Place the other with just enough space for the butterfly body between. When the paint is dry, let the children color the body and put on a happy face and antennae.
How To Hide a Butterfly
From Caterpillar To Butterfly
FLUTTER, FLUTTER BUTTERFLY
Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Flying in the summer sky,
Flying by for all to see,
Flying by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Flying in the summer sky.
Raise and Release Butterflies
Our director buys each classroom butterflies to raise. It takes about 3 or 4 weeks for complete cycle, but it is very educational for the little ones. It's very important that they are not moved while they are forming their chrysalises.
Butterfly Mobile
Make butterlies with tissue paper glued between 2 identical patterns of butterlies that have wings with the middle cut out. Attach different lengths of thread and hang from sticks to make a butterfly mobile
Paperplate Ladybugs
If you cut a small paperplate in half and round off the bottom inside, they can be painted red and attached at the top with a brass fastener for the ladybug's wings. The black body behind should have a semicircle head at the top. Add reinforce eyes, pipe cleaner antenna and either use bigger paper punch holes in the wings or dot with a qtip and black paint.
Walnut Shell Ladybugs
Let the children paint a half of a walnut shell red. When dry, add spots with black markers.
Bugs
Ladybugs And Other Insects
LITTLE LADYBUG
Tune: Mary Had A Little Lamb
See the little ladybug,
Ladybug, ladybug.
See the little ladybug,
Flying here and there.
Now it's landing on a leaf,
On a leaf, on a leaf,
Now it's landing on a leaf,
And crawling everywhere.
Memory Cards
Match up laminated pictures of different insects. The file below this table can be downloaded and printed twice.
Insect Snack
If there are no peanut butter allergies you can spread peanut butter on celery and then add baby carrot legs, licorice antennae and raisin eyes. Use more peanut butter as glue.
Dragonflies
If you can find the irredescent cellophane, you can glue it to popcicle stick to make a dragonfly. If you curl a slender piece of paper, it makes a great tongue for sipping nectar.
Ants
I have an ant stamp that the children love stamping either over a drawn dirt hill or over a place setting for those picnic visiters.
I Love Bugs!
Peek-A-Bug
BIG BUGS, SMALL BUGS
Tune: Are You Sleeping?
Big bugs, small bugs,
Big bugs, small bugs,
See them crawl, on the wall.
Creeping, creeping, crawling.. .
Never never falling.
Bugs,bugs,bugs!
THE ANTS GO MARCHING
Tune: 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 crawl on the drum
And they all go marching
Down to the ground
To get out of the rain
Zoom, zoom, zoom...
verses: 2. play peek-a-boo
verses: 3. climb a tree
verses: 4. crawl under a door
verses: 5. count bees in a hive
verses: 6. crawl on a stick
verses: 7. look up at heaven
verses: 8. swing on a gate
verses: 9. check the time
verses: 10. says "lets do it again" - or "the end"
Bugs On a Log
If there are no peanut butter allergies you can spread peanut butter on celery and then sprinkle raisins on top.
Ant March
You can sing the "Ants Go Marching" song as you follow single file all over the room or down the hall.
Egg Carton Spiders
Paint egg carton section or mint cups and put pipe cleaner legs in them to make spiders.
size="3">The Big Book of Bugs
Pet Bugs
THE EENSY WEENSY SPIDER
Tune: The Eensy Weensy Spider
The eensy weensy 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 eensy weensy spider went up the waterspout again.
Move this way and that way
Observing Live Insects
Go on an insect hike observing them in their natural habitats. Ants are usually easy to find in sidewalk cracks. You can also try and catch some insects and bring it into the classroom for closer observation under a magnifying glass. I used plasitc peanut butter containers but there are several different bug habitats available. Don't forget to provide some natural grass and a stick.