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Insects and Bugs Theme and Activities

Insects Songs and Fingerplays

The Insects Outside tune: The Wheels on the Bus The fireflies at night go blink, blink, blink
Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink
The fireflies at night go blink, blink, blink
Out in the garden.

The bees in the flowers go buzz, buzz, buzz
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz
The bees in the flowers go buzz, buzz, buzz
Out in the garden.

cricket/fields/chirp
caterpillars/on the leaves/munch
spiders/in the bush/ spin their webs
worms/in the ground/ wiggle and squirm

The Fuzzy Caterpillar Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider) The fuzzy caterpillar
Curled up on a leaf,
Spun her little chrysalis
And then fell fast asleep.
While she was sleeping
She dreamed that she could fly,
And later when she woke up
She was a butterfly!

Butterfly Song Tune: Up on the Housetop) First comes a butterfly and lays an egg.
Out comes a caterpillar with many legs.
Oh see the caterpillar spin and spin,
A little chrysalis to sleep in.

Oh, oh ,oh wait and see!
Oh, oh, oh wait and see!
Out of the chrysalis, my oh my,
Out comes a beautiful butterfly!

Speedy Spider Song tune:Oh, Susanna) I was sitting in my room one day
When it came right through the door.
A big spider sped right by me-
Went racing 'cross the floor.
(Chorus)
Oh, that spider! Oh how it scared me so.
But spiders can be good friends. And so I let it go.
I watched it crawl up the wall,
To find a spot just right.
It spun a web so beautiful.
And then went out of sight.
(Repeat chorus)
Now bugs and flies do not scare me,
For I know that it's true-
That a spiderweb is good to have,
Bugs stick to it like glue.
(Repeat chorus)

Lightning Bug tune:You are my Sunshine) I'm like a "lite brite"
I have a night light.
I fly in circles, up in the sky.
Some call me "lightning".
When my light's blinking.
But to my friends, I'm just "firefly."

While others sleep tight,
flash my night light,
fill the dark sky with light so bright.
Look out your window,
You'll see me flashing,
And then I'll turn off and tell you
"good night

Five Busy Bees Five little busy bees on a day so sunny
Number one said, "I'd like to make some honey"
Number two said, "Tell me, where shall it be?"
Number three said, "In the old honey tree"
Number four said, "Let's gather pollen sweet"
Number five said, "Let's take it on our feet".
Humming their busy little honey bee song.

Five Little Flies Five little flies buzzing through a hive,
One snuck some honey, and took a deep dive.
Four little flies buzzing through a door,
One slipped and fell, Crash! on the floor.
Three little flies buzzing through the trees,
One bumped the bark and bloodied his knees.
Two little flies buzzing through a shoe,
One held his nose and said, PEE YOO!
One little fly buzzing through a bun,
The swatter goes SPLAT! Now there are none

Bug Crafts

Fingerprint Bugs
Have each child dip their thumb in washable paint and print their thumb print on paper. They can decorate the body by coloring in legs and antennae.

Butterfly Feet
Paint the bottom of children's feet with non-toxic tempera paint. Have the child step onto a piece of paper with their feet and heels together. When dry, they can add antennae with markers or crayons or yarn.

Worm Tracks
Children dip different sizes of yarn through brown paint. Then they drag the wet yarn in various patterns across their paper.

Check out Terminix for their online insect activities.

Recipes for an Insect Theme

Bugs on a Log
celery cut into 4" lengths
peanut butter
raisins
Spread peanut butter in celery and arrange raisins on top. You can substitute cream cheese for peanutbutter

Butterfly Salad (Serves one)
2 Pineapple rings
Cottage cheese
Green olives sliced in 1/2
Food coloring
Celery stick
Slice pineapple rings in 1/2 to use a an outline of the butterfly's wings Use celery stick as the body Place cottage cheese inside of pineapple ring Decorate the cottage cheese with food coloring, you can also add carrot sticks forantennae.

More Insect Fun