You Have to Try These Insect Activities for Preschoolers

2K Shares

I know you are going to love these insect activities for preschoolers. These activities are perfect for your insect & bug learning centers.

Are you scared of bugs? Guess what? Insects don’t have to be scary and gross.  Make the study of insects and bugs exciting with this collection of fun & engaging insect activities for preschoolers.

insect activities for preschoolers

Insect Craft Activities for Preschoolers

There are many benefits of crafts for preschoolers. From caterpillars, bumble bees, butterflies, and ladybugs, your kids are going to love these fun insect craft activities.

Caterpillar Pattern Craft Activity

Combine math, craft, and fine motor skills activities while making these simple caterpillar pattern activities.

example of caterpillar crafts for preschoolers - a pattern activity, a fine motor activity, and a very hungry caterpillar activity.

Easy Bumble Bee Craft

Are you looking for a super simple insect craft for your kids? This paper tearing craft is fun, easy to prep, and making the cute bumble bee craft will help your kids build hand strength.

bumble bee torn paper craft to build fine motor skills. The bee is on purple background and includes wings made from torn parchment paper. - an example of bug and insect activities for preschoolers

This preschool bumble bee craft is also a great fine motor activity for spring. The printable craft has dark thick lines for scissors skill practice as well as opportunities for tracing and hole punching.

This preschool bumble bee craft is a great fine motor activity for spring.

Ladybug Crafts for Preschoolers

This printable ladybug craft from my Insect Theme Fine Motor Craft set will help your kids work on their scissor skills as they cut out all the parts. Kids will build finger control as they trace on the dotted lines and build hand strength as they punch holes in this fun spring-themed craft activity.

This printable ladybug craft for preschoolers is a great insect activity and fine motot skills activity.

Butterfly Craft for Preschoolers

Here is another printable craft activity that will be an extremely motivating way to help your kids work on fine motor skills. This butterfly craft will allow your kids to work on cutting practice, hole punching to build hand strength and pre-writing activities.

This printable butterfly craft for preschoolers is a great fine motor activity and an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

The printable insect fine motor crafts are very popular, and you can check out additional printable fine motor crafts here. There are LOTS of different themes!

Bug & Insect Playdough Activities

Playdough is a great tool for hands-on learning and fine motor activities. Here are a few bug and insect playdough activities to try with your kiddos.

Bug Theme Playdough Tray

Gather a variety of materials into a divided tray.  Add playdough.  Then stand back and watch kids create playdough insects with this fun bug and insect theme playdough tray

Kids can use a bug playdough tray activity to make playdough insects like this green bug with wings. This is an example of insect activities for preschoolers

Butterfly Invitation to Play

I love gathering thematic materials to create an invitation to play.  Colored beads, flowers, and plastic butterflies can be used to create a fun butterfly theme play dough tray.  Your kids will love this open-ended creative activity.

Butterfly invitation to play for your insect activity area.

Bug and Insect Fine Motor Activities

Use these dot sticker printable strips for some fun and motivating bug-themed fine motor practice. Peeling and sticking stickers is a great way to work on developing pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination.

lady bug and caterpillar dot sticker activity shown with some dot stickers - an example of bug and insect activities for preschoolers.

Insect Math Activities

Do you need some hands-on math activities for your bug and insect theme? Check out these ideas.

Counting and Sorting Insects Activities

Kids will enjoy sorting a variety of insects into sorting containers.  Muffin tins, egg cartons, and ice cube trays can be used.

Muffin tin and plastic ice cube tray with plastic insects used for fun counting and sorting insect activities for preschoolers as part of an insect theme dramatic play area.

Counting Bugs for Preschoolers

You can use this Bug & Insect Number resource from my store in many different ways.

  • Sort the cute fireflies by color
  • Use number cards for number recognition and counting activities
  • Work on simple addition
  • You can even use them as playdough mats with your bug playdough tray.
A printable bug counting activity is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers

Caterpillar Dice Game

You can use the dot sticker printables for a fun and easy roll and cover game with your kids.

caterpillar dot sticker printable strips with dot stickers and a die - a fine motor activity and a game - an example of bug and insect activities for preschoolers

Caterpillar Pattern Activities

Kids can identify and complete the pattern in this hands-on caterpillar patterning activity found in the store.

A printable caterpillar activity is a fun way to learn about patterns.  This is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Butterfly Symmetry Activity

Using this free butterfly printable to introduce the concept of symmetry.  Kids can design the wings on one half of a butterfly and use a mirror to complete the butterfly.

Butterfly symmetry activity.

Butterfly Matching Puzzles

Here is another butterfly symmetry activity. Kids can match butterfly halves with this butterfly matching activity that is found in my store, and It’s a great visual discrimination activity.

printable butterfly matching activity is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Bug & Insect Ten Frame Activities & Games

Use this free ten frame printable and some fun insect stickers to make a DIY insect math activity.

Ten-frame insect activity.

Make Bug Counting & Number Books

Use fun buggy stickers to create thematic number books.  These printable books can be found in my store, but you can easily make your own.

A printable number book with 3 bumble bee stickers is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Bug & Insect Literacy Activities

Of course, you can also use bug and insect theme activities to work on early literacy skills with your kids.

Insect Theme Books

Are you looking for new books about creepy crawlies?  Here is a nice list of bug and insect books for kids.

Insect theme books for your lessons or activities.

Bumblebee Alphabet Clip Cards

Work on alphabet matching and beginning sounds with these bumblebee clip cards from the store.  This activity is easily adapted for different learners.

A bumble bee letter matching activity is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Caterpillar Name Puzzles

Use these printable caterpillar name puzzles to work on name recognition. You can also use them to work on sight words, numbers, and rhyming activities.

Use caterpillar name puzzles for bug and insect theme name activities

Insect Research Lab Dramatic Play

If you like the idea of play-based learning, you are going to love this science-based dramatic play center.

Create an insect research lab dramatic play area and it will be the most popular area in your classroom.  Kids can collect insect specimens, measure them and observe them.  Don’t forget to provide opportunities to record their data.  Your little scientists will have so much fun when you transform your dramatic play area into an entomology lab.

Props for an insect theme dramatic play area.  Photo includes bug nets, bug jars, rulers, and tweezers as an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Additional Insect Activities for Preschoolers

If you haven’t seen enough already, here are some additional bug-theme activity ideas.

Bug Collection

I found this inexpensive divided box with the fishing gear at my local Walmart.  I think it’s a great bug sorting tool.

A plastic divided container filled with plastic bugs and insects as a prop for an insect theme dramatic play area of insect math activities for preschoolers.

Design an Insect Habitat

Gather a variety of materials from silk flowers to colored beads.  Let your kids design a habitat for plastic insects.  They can then pretend to conduct research as they observe the creepy crawly creatures and record the data.

Design an insect habitat is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Bug & Insect Sensory Bin

Let your kids catch insects in the sensory bin.  Use Easter grass, plastic insects, tweezers, and clear containers.  Check out this sensory materials ideas list to get even more ideas for your sensory bin.

Shredded paper, plastic bugs, and tweezers in a sensory bin is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Bug & Insect Art Activity

Want to add a buggy twist to an art activity? Purchase some flyswatters at the dollar store, and your kids can use them for an insect art activity.

painting with fly swatters is a fun process art activity for preschoolers and is an example of fun insect activities for preschoolers.

Here are a few additional ideas from around the web.

I hope that you and your kids have fun with these insect activities for preschoolers.  Do you have additional ideas for activities for a bug theme?  I would love to hear about them!

Additional Insect Activities in the Store

Are you looking for additional bug-themed activities for your kids?  Check out the following resources in my store.

entomology lab dramatic play printables
Insects Crafts and Fine Motor Activities
spring dot sticker strip activities
Paper tearing fine motor activity printable pages

Purchase The Insect Themed Activities On TPT

Do you prefer to shop at Teachers Pay Teachers? You can also purchase the bug theme printables in my TPT Store.

2K Shares