Hobbies And Interests
Easy Activities
For some easy classroom activities, print insect coloring pages from the Internet or give the children insect-themed coloring books. The young children can use crayons or markers to color the insects. If you do not mind a messy activity, spread a large plastic sheet over several tables. Allow the children to use paint to color the insect pictures. Write each toddler's name on his picture and have him take it home to show off his artistic skills.
Insect Crafts
Help toddlers make easy insects craft using craft pompoms and chenille stems. For example, help them glue yellow chenille stems around a large black pompom to make a bee. Make an ant by gluing two black or brown pompoms together, and using the chenille stems to make the legs and antennas. Toddlers can glue googly eyes to their pompom insects. The children can also use clay or play dough to make insects.
Outdoor Activities
Toddlers can get an up-close and personal look at insects when you prepare a shaker net. Cover an embroidery hoop with tulle and use a rubber band to keep the tulle on the hoop. Take the toddlers outside and place the hoop underneath a bush or shrub. Shake the bush or shrub vigorously to startle any insects so they will fall on the net. Quickly use a glass jar to cover the insects before they fly away. The toddlers can get close to the bugs to see unique features of different insects. Other outdoor activities include having an adult lift small rocks to see different types of insects.
Educational Games
Print alphabet bugs from the Toddler Toddler website to prepare a learning activity. Go over each letter with the toddlers for practice. Tape the letters on the ground and play music. When the music stops, each toddler must stand on a letter. Call out a letter and the toddler standing on that letter wins a small prize. For a variation, print or make number bugs and use numbers instead of letters. You can also prepare the game with insect-themed bugs and shapes.