Discover the wonderful creatures that make the world go round! What is hiding beneath the earth, in the trees or in the garden? 🪲
Encourage children to investigate and learn about creepy crawlies, bugs and insects and their important roles in our ecosystem. There are many ways to engage with and learn about our favourite (and least favourite) bugs! 🐜
Some of our favourite ways to learn about bugs
- Bug Discovery Provocation – Set up a fun activity on a light panel or LED table with acrylic stones, glass pebbles and investigatory equipment. Magnifiers and natural loose parts elements create a small world worthy of discovery! 🔎
- Stamp and Roll – Using garden & bug themed stampers and rollers in modelling dough, clay or sand can help children learn what insect lives where, as they engage in creative play. Rolling and stamping also improves and strengthens fine and gross motor skills. 🐞
- Small World Play – Create a small world habitat using play tree stumps or caves and bug figurines. Encourage children to create their own home for the bugs, with their own stories. Helping children to humanise and normalise bugs they see every day. Be careful about normalising those dangerous spiders though. 🕷️
- Bug Hunt – Go on an outdoor bug hunt. Take magnifiers, collecting trays and notepads out on a walk through the park or in the outdoor play area. Children can search for real life bugs, or you can hide our bug stones in the garden to be found. 🐛
- Puzzles – Familiarise children with common bugs while they strengthen logical and spatial reasoning skills. Learn fun facts about the differences between arthropods, insects, spiders, beetles and more as children participate in this fun activity. 🦋
Whether you love them or find them creepy, bugs are an important part of our ecosystem and are ever present in our homes and gardens, making them crucial critters to learn about. Using these engaging resources, children can learn about the fascinating world of bugs, beetles and creepy crawlies! 🪲
