Preschool Theme Time: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

Last week I put together my huge list of activities to do with my preschooler. One thing I haven’t done in a long time is our “Theme Time” activities.  It is such an easy way to incorporate those games that get shoved to the back shelf.  Last week we did a lot of insect-themed activities.  Here are some of the things we did together:

ED did lots of different crafts. For example she (and the others of course too) made a snail. We brought out the Snail’s Pace Race (affiliate link), a cute game perfect for the 2-5 year old crowd because it just entails rolling the dice and moving the colored snail one space forward.

ED loves the Snail’s Pace Race. (affiliate link)  It is a cooperative game where the players work together to move all 6 snails to the end of the row.

This post talks about some of our other favorite preschool board games.

Here are a few other of  ED’s projects from last week. What’s cute about the ladybug activity is that the wings really open and close! Cute!

 We looked at dragonflies outside (we happened to find a dead one too and took a long time looking at it!), did a couple crafts, and brought out the pattern blocks (affiliate link) too. (You can find lots of great templates at pre-Kinders.)

For the first time in a long time, I brought out the pattern activities we’ve had for years. ED was the perfect age for these.

Here is a link to the Learning Resources Bug Counters we used (affiliate link)

Here is a similar set that has cards with it: Learning Resources Let’s Tackle Math

We printed out copies of Deanna Jump’s cute insect book for emergent readers. DD, ED and a friend all colored insect books:

I also printed out an insect-themed math grid game. I got this one from kidssoup.com, but you can get a leaf one free at preKinders and place bugs on it. Each person takes a turn rolling the die and covering that many squares on her grid. The first person to cover all the spaces wins the game.

And we spotted some pretty interesting bugs and spiders in our outdoor hunts. We especially like kicking apart decaying logs to find the huge, black Bess Beetles!

Recently, I made a couple bug-themed tracing pages that I thought might add be fun in a bug unit.  It is free to download here:   Free Bugs Bugs Bugs Activities – Worksheets Packet

You can find a list of Montessori inspired insect activities over at Living Montessori Now.  I also noticed that over at the Adventures of Bear they also did some Montessori insect-related activities recently. You might want to check that out.

ED and I also spend about ten minutes every day (and I try not to ever miss a day no matter what’s going on) in a chair together to read her Bob Books. We just started those about two weeks ago and she’s doing well.  She still needs lots of help, but is making progress. I recommend those and  Animal Antics as a first reader for your preschooler once they know their letter sounds well.  I used these same books with DD when she was starting to learn to read–see that post here.

Disclosure:  Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Other related posts you might be interested in:

• A Huge List of Activities to do with your preschooler (100+ Activities) A free printable:

• Preschool at Home: Activities you can do with your 2-4 Year Olds, Fine Motor Skills
• Preschool at Home: Learning Letters
• Preschool at Home: Alphabet Activities
• Felt Play: Make your own Felt Board
• Preschool at Home: Handwriting
• Preschool at Home: Science for 2-4 Year Olds
• Preschool Montessori: Vertebrate and Invertebrate Study and Free Cards
• Preschool at Home: A Few Math Ideas for the 2 1/2-3 year old crowd
• Preschool Math Activities (K4) Montessori Math and More
• Preschool at Home: Lapbooks
• You might also be interested in the post: Homeschool Preschool Year in Review which was a recap of many of our preschool activities this past year.
• Preschool Geography: Activities for learning about where we live in the world, Montessori world map work and more
• Preschool Geography: Maps and More
• The Seven Continents and World Landmarks
• If your child knows their letter sounds, they may be ready to learn to read. Visit this post, Teach Your Child to Read,  for fun ideas that help your child learn to read!
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