Do you know about the only insect that migrates in winter? Do your kids know what complete metamorphosis means? Are you wanting to put together an amazing unit to study about insects and learn all kinds of amazing facts?
Well, you can read great books to find out about the insect that migrates in winter and about the life of insects that are prominent in the area where you live. Researching is a great way to learn about insects.
But you can take this lesson on a fun path. We have and it has been fun adding Eric Carle insects books and a wonderful monthly subscription that includes a study on insects. This monthly subscription is Little Passports ~ Early Edition.
In this post, I will show you several beautiful ways to learn about the characteristics of insects, including fun hands-on activities. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Beautiful ways to learn about the characteristics of insects
My daughter was in preschool at the time, so I went to our shelf and got some fun preschool insect books to read about things like parts of a bug (a head, a thorax, and abdomen).
Here are some insect books for preschool that we read together and learned a lot. For example, when we read about butterflies, my daughter was fascinated about them having pairs of wings and not just two wings.
Look at our list of insect books for preschool that your kids will also love. Pay attention at the insects that live on land, on trees and bushes, near water, etc. In one of the books, I was surprised that she was interested on what incomplete metamorphosis was.
The Bug Book
Hello, World! Backyard BugsLittle Ant and the Butterfly (LittleABC Insects (AMNH ABC Board Books)Counting Book of Bugs: Count fromBugs
For more ideas, check out our list here: Moth & Butterfly Life Cycle Book List & Resources that Will Blow your Mind and our Insects Books and Resources List.
Learning Insect Words
Little Passports Early Edition is great because it is for kids ages 3-5. Every month, they get a package that focuses on a specific theme. This month, my daughter got one on insects! She learned so many insects characteristics.
It was fascinating how she memorized and pointed out the head, thorax and abdomen on an insect picture. Reading the insect books for children that age certainly helped, but the hands-on activities from Little Passports helped so much.
There are pages in the booklet that show pictures and names of species of insects. It was fun to recognize popular ones and learning some new ones (for my daughter). Teaching about insects to preschoolers is super easy with Little Passports.
I love their excited expressions when their monthly packages arrive at our door and we spend several hours going through the materials. Click on the image below to get more information about the Early Edition.
Some of the things that we learned in this lesson were about the life cycle of insects for kids and parts of an insect preschool style (of course, because it is for kids ages 3-5).
We also discussed about topics like what pairs of legs look like and how many pairs insects have. Also, insect eyes are weird, I mean, interesting. Some have what are called compound eyes. We studied what that means as well.
The package come with stickers, a booklet of activities on bugs, a cup with a magnifying glass lid to place an insect in it and watch it more closely without touching it and several other fun hands-on activities.
Life Cycle of Insects
The Little Passports package includes a booklet. In that booklet, there are about 14 different activities that are very educational. We had an insect body parts worksheet at preschool level. Also, we say the type of life cycle that the butterfly insects undergo.
Teaching preschoolers about insects is a lot of fun, especially about the life cycles. My daughter made little hand motions about how the little egg hatches that the adult insect (female) lays to reveal a tiny baby. Then the larval stage begins.
I think your kids will also love to use the Little Passports package to learn about the characteristics of insects for kids. Life cycles of insects are wonderful! To get your own subscription, click below! Trust me, you won’t regret it!
Insects for Kids ~ Printables
Let’s move onto another resource we used to learn in this unit. They are wonderful insect printables for preschoolers and older kids. These insect printables include worksheets, but also hands-on activities and games that kids will really enjoy.
In it, we have 12 insects printables, including printable insect pictures in 3-part cards, a memory game, a bingo game and more. There are also some printable insect coloring pages that kids will enjoy as they learn about the butterfly and moth life cycle.
And if you like the way that Eric Carle does his Art in his insect stories, then you will really like to get the art lessons set. It comes with 5 beautiful lessons on different Art techniques that are inspired by the Eric Carle books and his insect colors.
Insects Crafts for Preschoolers
Lastly, let’s include a short list of some insects craft for preschoolers to make during this unit. I will also add some insect activities for kids to really bring it home.
Insect Activities for Kids (Crafts & Printables)
Insect books for Preschoolers that teach about maps, colors and sight words (Printables)
Examining the Characteristics and Life Cycles of Insects (and Spiders)
This Sensational Butterfly Life Cycle Book Printable will Blow your Mind
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