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Pre-K activities, learning games, crafts, and printables


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Ladybugs

They may be tiny, but this theme offers grand ways of exploring these insects including arts & crafts and manipulation ideas.

In the Educatall Club
Print our educa-decorate documents to decorate your daycare with tons of adorable ladybugs.


Educatall Club
Educatall Club

ALL THEMES See 2024 schedule

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AREA SETUP

(Open thematic poster-Ladybugs) Print, laminate, and decorate the walls of your daycare with all kinds of posters.

 

Educa-decorate-Ladybugs
(Open educa-decorate-Ladybugs) Print, cut out, and laminate. Use the illustrations to decorate the walls of your daycare and to set the mood for the theme.

 

Educa-numbers-Ladybugs
(Open educa-numbers-Ladybugs) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

 

Educa-letters-Ladybugs

(Open educa-letters-Ladybugs) Print and laminate the posters. Display them on a wall to decorate your daycare throughout the theme.

 

Garland-Ladybugs
(Open garland-Ladybugs) Print. Let children decorate the garland. Cut it out and hang it within the daycare or near your daycare entrance.

 

Ladybug balloons
Blow up red balloons and let children draw big black dots (or glue black construction paper circles) on them. Hang them from the ceiling along with plastic (or cardboard) insects.

 

SPECIAL TOOL

(Open posters-Bathrooms) This tool was created in response to a special request received. Print and display.

 

CIRCLE TIMEPoni presents-Ladybugs

Poni presents-Ladybugs
(Open Poni Presents-Ladybugs) Print and laminate. Use a Poni puppet (or any other puppet) to teach children the names of the different ladybug parts.

 

Questions to spark a conversation:

  • Have you ever seen ladybugs?
  • Where can they usually be found? In the garden? On window sills?
  • What color are ladybugs?
  • How many legs do ladybugs have?
  • Can you name other types of insects?
  • Which insects can fly?

We suggest an imaginary game you can enjoy with your group. (Open thematic letter-Insects) Print the letter and insert it in an envelope. Hide the envelope in an easy to find location within the daycare. During circle time, invite children to search for it. Read portions of the interactive letter to them each day.

 

PICTURE GAMEPicture game-Ladybugs

Use the pictures as a memory game or to spark a conversation with your group. They can also be used to decorate the walls of your daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-Ladybugs) Print, laminate, and store in a Ziploc bag or in your thematic bins.

 

ACTIVITY SHEETS

Activity sheets are suggested for each theme. Print and follow instructions. (Open activity sheets-Ladybugs)

 

WRITING ACTIVITIES

(Open writing activities-L like ladybug) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

 

Stationery-Ladybugs
Stationery is offered with each theme. It can be used to communicate with parents, in your writing area, or to identify your thematic bins. (Open stationery-Ladybugs) Print.

 

Educa-nuudles-LadybugsActivity-sheets-Ladybugs
(Open educa-nuudles-Ladybugs) Print for each child. Have children color the sheet and use Magic nuudles to give it a three-dimensional look. Variation: You don't have Magic Nuudles? Have children fill the spaces designed for Magic Nuudles with bingo markers or stickers. To order Magic Nuudles:

 

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards-Ladybugs

(Open word flashcards-Ladybugs) (Open giant word flashcards-Ladybugs) Print. The word flashcards may be used to spark a conversation with your group, in your reading and writing corners, or to identify your thematic bins. Red, orange, black, wings, black spots, garden, aphid, to fly, tree, flower, antenna, ladybug

 

Scene-My gardenWriting activities-L like ladybug
(Open scene-My garden) Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces. Children use the different items to decorate the scene.

 

Sounds and pictures box-I and O
(Open box sounds and pictures-I and O) Print the different illustrations which all represent words that begin with the letters "I" or "O". Use them to practice these sounds with your group.

 

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS-Insects

Construction-Building blocks:

  • Green straw (used for Easter baskets) in a large, shallow bin along with plastic insects to play with.
  • Use only green, black, brown, and red blocks to make giant insects.
  • Assembly games (K-Nex or Magnetix) children can use to imagine scary or silly insects.
  • Drinking straws which can be connected to create the longest worm ever seen! You can even have a contest among friends or with another group.

Arts & crafts:Stationery-Ladybugs

  • Plastic insects and paint. Children can make prints, make the insects walk over paper, etc.
  • Attach plastic worms (or jelly worms) to a fishing rod and dip them in paint to make impressions on paper.
  • Make insect crowns! Use a strip of paper and antennae (use red and black for a ladybug crown or yellow and black for a bumblebee crown).
  • A roll of toilet paper, cardboard wings, pipe cleaners for antennae, and a small quantity of paint can easily become a bee or a butterfly.
  • A coffee filter with a clothespin attached in the middle can become a butterfly or a dragonfly. Add a few drops of food coloring for a special touch.
  • A butterfly model and several colors of tissue paper. Children can tear and crumple the tissue paper and glue it on the wings to make a multicolored butterfly.
  • A butterfly (or ladybug) traced onto a transparent acetate, colorful sand, and glue to create a stained-glass window effect. Display in a window.
  • Two paper plates (a plate cut in two), a fastener, red and black paint...and you get a magnificent ladybug!
  • Two egg carton cavities, wiggly eyes, a small amount of black and yellow paint, cardboard or tulle wings, and antennae...a wonderful bumblebee!
  • Insect-shaped punches (scrapbooking).Educa-nuudles-Ladybugs
  • Bits of yarn (brown, pink, black) to make a worm collage.
  • Glow in the dark paint can be used to make fireflies.
  • Use two empty toilet paper rolls, string, and cellophane paper to make binoculars.
  • With string and paint, paint like worms!
  • Use a series of egg carton cavities to make a caterpillar.
  • Black or brown paint can be blown on paper using drinking straws to make spiders.

Drawing:

  • Stencils with insect, flower, and garden-related shapes.
  • Insect coloring pages.

Role play:

  • Word flashcards-LadybugsSet up a bee-keeper area. Add a hat with a protective net, a rain suit, a few bees (or other insects), a large square box which may be used to represent a beehive, a few instruments such as a watering can, shovel, etc.
  • Organize an insect hunter area with butterfly nets, containers for insects, plastic insects of all kinds, insect posters which may be used to identify insects, magnifying glasses which may be used to observe insects, etc. Don't forget to have a picnic...there are always insects at picnics!
  • You can also organize a gardening area with various gardening tools (toys), a few watering cans, empty pots for plants, etc. You may add gloves for gardening, a hat, part of a hose, knee protectors for gardening, etc.
  • Dress up like insects...

Manipulation:

  • Memory game using educatall pictures.
  • Puzzle made with insect pictures or other puzzles you have on hand which tie into the theme.
  • Modeling dough and insects which can be pushed into it. Cookie cutters shaped like flowers can be fun too...insects love flowers!
  • Salt dough can be used to create insects...let dry.Giant word flashcards-Ladybugs
  • Real insects you have captured in small transparent containers.
  • Association games with insects (some that bite, some that crawl, some that fly...)
  • Several illustrations of insects. Find the ones with the same number of spots!
  • Association games with bees and flowers of the same color!

Pre-reading:

  • Books about insects and flowers.
  • Colourful butterflies may be used to decorate the walls.

Pre-writing:

  • Insects with dotted lines for tracing.
  • Games in which children must find the errors, involving insects.
  • Hunt and seek games.
  • Activity sheets about insects.Scene-My garden
  • Games with educatall word flashcards.

Motor skills:

  • We are worms crawling in the rain.
  • Obstacle course with chairs children must crawl under like ants in an anthill.
  • Simon says...to act like insects.
  • Treasure hunt.
  • Deposit a jumping rope on the floor and have children walk on it as if they were walking on a worm.
  • Wave a jumping rope and invite children to jump over it without touching it.
  • I am flying like an insect.Box sounds and pictures-I and O
  • Pin the tail on the insect! Hang a giant bumblebee on the wall and have children attempt to place its sting in the correct place while blindfolded (like the pin the tail on the donkey game).
  • Children place themselves on their hands and feet, placing their feet on the shoulders of the child behind them...what a caterpillar!
  • Children sit in a circle with a ball of yarn. Make a giant spider web by throwing the ball to one another.

Sensory bins:

  • Fill a bin with dirt and add real worms!
  • Sandbox...hide plastic worms or other insects in the sand.
  • Bin filled with Honeycomb cereal.
  • Water table, a few lily pads (Styrofoam), and a few insects which go on the water such as a praying mantis.

Science:Game-This is my spot-Ladybugs

  • Make your own vivarium using an old aquarium. You may also give each child a small transparent container. Add dirt, a few strands of grass, and insects children find while playing outdoors. Cover with a screen.

ROUTINE AND TRANSITION ACTIVITIES

Game-This is my spot-Ladybugs
(Open game-This is my spot-Ladybugs) Print two copies. Laminate and cut out the cards. Glue one copy of each card on the table using adhesive paper. Drop the other copies in a bag. Children take turns picking a card to determine their spot at the table for the day. You may also use the cards to determine naptime spots or for your task train.

 

My ladybug path
(Open My ladybug path) Print, laminate, and arrange the illustrations on the floor to create a path which leads to various locations within your daycare. The path may lead to areas children frequently visit such as the bathroom, the cloakroom, etc. If you prefer, the illustrations may be used to delimit your various workshops.

 

ACTIVITIES FOR BABIESMy ladybug-path

Red-The color
Fill a large bin with red items to give babies the chance to explore the color. Name the color often throughout the theme.

 

I see red!
Fill a variety of plastic bottles with red items (feathers, marbles, beads, paper clips, etc.) or add red food coloring to water. Seal the bottles with hot glue.

 

Insect bottles
Collect clear plastic containers (mayonnaise, peanut butter, juice, salad dressing, etc.) and fill them with items found in nature and plastic insects. For example, add ladybugs to one container, spiders to another container, and flies in a third container. Seal the containers with hot glue.

 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLSLacing-Ladybugs

Lacing-Ladybugs
(Open lacing-Ladybugs) Print, laminate, and punch holes around the contour of each shape. Children can thread string, ribbon, or a shoelace through the holes.

 

Red or black
Each child finds a partner. Give each team a small stack of traditional playing cards. One child turns the cards. The other child must guess (before each card is turned) if the card is red or black. This simple game helps develop fine motor skills and observation skills.

 

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Hide plastic ladybugs throughout the yard and invite children to search for them. Each time a child finds a ladybug, he/she must deposit it in a basket. The game continues until all the ladybugs have been found.

 

Help! My ladybug lost her spots!Educa-decorate-Ladybugs
Cut a large circle out of red construction paper and draw a ladybug on it. Cut out several black circles and hide them throughout the yard (or in your daycare). Children must search for your ladybug's spots. When they find one, have them glue it on your ladybug.

 

Ladybug spots
Cut a large circle out of red construction paper and draw a ladybug on it. Draw black spots too (but don't color them in). Add pipe cleaners for the antennae. Cut several black spots out of construction paper. Hang the ladybug on the wall. Blindfold children and encourage them to try to stick the spots as close to the spots drawn on the ladybug as possible, just like in a game of pin the tail on the donkey.

 

RELAXATION ACTIVITIES

Ladybug massage
Each child finds a partner. Give each child a small plastic ladybug. Encourage them to gently "walk" their ladybug over their partner's arms, legs, and back.

 

MUSICAL AND RHYTHM ACTIVITIESColourful ladybugs

Musical ladybugs
(Open colourful ladybugs) Print and laminate the ladybugs. Secure them on the floor of your daycare. To the sound of music, children walk around the daycare. When the music stops, they must quickly find a ladybug to stand on. Variation: It is possible to remove one ladybug after each round. Children will eventually have to share ladybugs to avoid being eliminated.

 

Ladybug tambourine
You will need two paper plates per child. Have them paint them red (on the outside). Once the paint is dry, staple the two plates together, adding rice or pasta between the two plates. Have children cut black spots out of construction paper and encourage them to glue them on their ladybugs. Cut out legs and antennae too and glue them on the plate. If you prefer, use black pipe cleaners for the antennae. Have fun creating a variety of rhythms with your ladybug tambourines.

 

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIESEduc-pairs-Ladybugs

Educ-pairs-Ladybugs
(Open educ-pairs-Ladybugs) Print. Children must draw a line between identical ladybugs or color them using the same color. For durable, eco-friendly use, laminate for use with dry-erase markers.

 

Educ-trace-Ladybugs
(Open educ-trace-Ladybugs) Print for each child. Children must trace the lines using the correct color and then color the object at the end of each line using the same color.

 

Educ-same and different-Ladybugs
(Open educ-same and different-Ladybugs) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must circle the illustration which is different in each row.

 

Educ-differences-LadybugsEduc-trace-Ladybugs
(Open educ-differences-Ladybugs) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must circle the correct number of differences.

 

Educ-math-Ladybugs
(Open educ-math-Ladybugs) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must count the objects in each rectangle and circle the correct number.

 

My ladybug
(Open ladybug) Print and laminate. Add pieces of Velcro. Cut black circles and add Velcro behind each one. Children take turns adding a specific number of spots to the ladybug.

 

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Prepare a thematic bin containing objects which can be used by an insect hunter: nets, small containers, tweezers, magnifying glasses, plastic insects, microscope, binoculars, vivarium, a hat with a net attached, empty bottle of insect repellent, etc.

 educ-same and different-Ladybugs

EARLY SCIENCE/MANIPULATION/EXPLORATION

Ladybug observation lab
Gather clear containers, magnifying glasses, tweezers, pieces of tulle or screen, and pictures of ladybugs. Use them to set up your own ladybug observation lab. Display the pictures on the wall and give children containers they can use to collect ladybugs when they play outside. Have them compare the ladybugs to identify differences and similarities.

 

Red combinations
Prepare a red workshop. Mix red paint with other colors and observe the changes. If you prefer, use water and food coloring.

 

Insect inspectors
Using magnifying glasses, nets, and tiny containers to search for and capture insects in grass, bushes, and trees. Catch a variety of insects and encourage children to explore them.

 

CULINARY ACTIVITIESEduc-differences-Ladybugs

Ladybug cupcakes
Prepare vanilla cupcakes with your group. Insert two maraschino cherries in each cupcake, letting the tails stick out (they will represent the antennae). Add red food coloring to your frosting then let children decorate their cupcakes. Let children add chocolate chips to represent the ladybug spots and blue or green M&M's to represent the eyes. Children will be very proud of their creations.

 

Ladybug apples
Make ladybug apples at snack time. Give each child half of an apple (smear the flesh of the apple with lemon juice to delay oxidization). Place the apples flat on a plate. Invite children to add tiny cream cheese dots on their apple piece. They can stick a chocolate chip on each spot. Insert two pretzels at the top of the apple to represent the antennae.

 

ARTS & CRAFTSPuppets-Ladybugs

Puppets-Ladybugs
(Open puppets-Ladybugs) Print the puppet models on heavy cardboard. Have children cut them out and decorate them using a variety of arts & crafts materials. Attach Popsicle sticks to the back of each model to make puppets.

 

Stencils-Ladybugs
(Open stencils-Ladybugs) Print and cut out. Children can use the stencils to trace or paint elements related to the theme.

 

The ladybugsStencils-Ladybugs
(Open models-Ladybugs) Print as many copies as needed. Use the models for a variety of crafts and activities throughout the theme.

 

Ladybugs on a leaf
(Open models-Leaves) Print for each child. Glue several leaves on a large piece of cardboard for a collective project. Encourage children to press their finger in red paint and then make impressions on the leaves. Once the paint is dry, have them add antennae and spots using a black marker.

 

My miniature ladybug
(Open miniature ladybug) Print, cut out, and color the parts. Glue them on empty toilet paper rolls to create miniature ladybugs. Hang them from the ceiling. If you prefer, you may also use empty yogurt containers instead of toilet paper rolls.

 

Backwards ladybugModels-Ladybugs
Give each child a small piece of white cardboard. Ask them to draw several black spots using a black marker. When they are done, give them half a potato and have them press it in red paint. They can use the potato to make an impression on top of the black spots. When the paint is dry, cut around the red impression. Use pipe cleaners or strips of black paper to add antennae.

 

My ladybug
Go for a walk with your group and invite each child to choose a rock. When you return, let children wash their rock in your water table or a large container filled with water. Let dry. Let children paint their rock using red and black paint to create a cute little ladybug.

 

A ladybug
Make a felt ladybug. Cut a large circle and a smaller circle out of red felt. Assemble the circles on a piece of cardboard. Cut tiny circles out of black felt and glue them on the ladybug. Add wiggly eyes and antennae (pipe cleaners or black yarn). This craft can also be done using Fun Foam.

 

The ladybugEduca-numbers-Ladybugs
Cut a Styrofoam ball in two. Give each child one half. Have them paint it with red paint. Later, they can add black spots, wiggly eyes and antennae (pipe cleaners).

 

Tiny ladybug
Make an adorable ladybug by painting one section of an egg carton with red paint. Add black spots, legs (pipe cleaners), and antennae (pipe cleaners). Use a marker to draw a face.

 

Ladybug plate
Paint a sturdy paper plate using red paint. Add black spots and antennae (pipe cleaners).

 

Beautiful ladybug
Cut a potato in two and press it in red paint. Make impressions on waxed paper. Press your index finger in black paint and then on the red impressions to represent ladybug spots. Add details using a black marker.

 

I AM LEARNING TO DRAWI am learning to draw-Ladybugs

(Open I am learning to draw-Ladybugs) Print and laminate the model sheet. Encourage children to practice their drawing technique on the model sheet first, and then let them try drawing a ladybug on their own.

 

CREATIVE COLORING

(Open creative coloring-Ladybugs) Print for each child. Invite children to complete the picture.

 

COMPLETE THE DRAWING

(Open complete the drawing-Ladybugs) Print for each child. They must draw the missing elements.

 

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-Ladybugs) Print for each child.

 

SONGS & RHYMESSongs and Rhymes-Busy ladybug

Busy ladybug

By: Patricia Morrison

 

Yellow, orange, or red
With antennae on my head
I've got spots on my back
They are tiny and black
I am oh so cute to kids
Even if I eat aphids
Yum!
Who am I?
I am not just a bug
I'm a busy ladybug

 

Have fun!

The Educatall team

 

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