Free Insect Preschool Lesson Plans
Young kids are naturally curious about creepy crawlies, making free insect preschool lesson plans a perfect fit for spring preschool themes. Bugs are everywhere in the spring, and preschoolers love learning about butterflies, ladybugs, ants, and bees. So why not enjoy some preschool lesson plans that are about nothing but insects!?
Exploring bugs just became a lot more fun for preschoolers and a whole lot easier for preschool teachers. Grab these free insect lesson plans for preschoolers.
Spring is buzzing with new life, making it the perfect time for free insect preschool lesson plans! As part of spring preschool themes, an insect unit lets kids explore bugs up close, helping them develop observation skills and an appreciation for nature.
Whether they’re learning about the life cycle of a butterfly, counting spots on a ladybug, or watching ants hard at work, preschoolers love discovering the tiny creatures all around them. Plus, bug activities naturally tie into science, math, literacy, and even fine motor skills! And that’s definitely the case with these insect lesson plans, too.
Insects might be tiny, but they make a big impact on preschool learning! With hands-on activities, outdoor exploration, and engaging lesson plans, preschoolers can develop a love for nature while building important early learning skills—all while having a blast.
We also have free bugs and butterflies preschool lesson plans, too!
Shop our Insect Printable Sets
Shop now and bring creepy-crawly fun to your preschool lesson plans!
Insect Lesson plans for Preschoolers
These bug activities for preschoolers are sure to have your preschoolers a ‘buzz’! Full of engaging activities and loads of learning, these academic and playful ideas will make planning your insect preschool theme super simple.
Literacy Activities for an Insect Lesson Plans
Insect Prewriting Practice – This prewriting practice activity is great for building fine motor skills and the pencil grip needed for writing skills. Plus, it’s a breeze to prep. Print and grab some small items like buttons or dried beans. Invite your preschooler to place a button on each ant and then drag each one along the lines all the way back to the bug cage.
Ladybug Letter Puzzles and Sensory Bin – This fun activity can be turned into a sensory bin if you are feeling adventurous or used as a letter identification puzzle. This puzzle helps your preschooler learn the upper and lowercase versions of each letter. Print and cut out and place just a few mixed-up sets of letters to begin (no more than 4 pairs to begin). Invite your preschooler to find the matches. If used in a sensory bin, you can hide the letters in dyed rice along with dried black beans for even more letter fun!
Children’s books about Insects
One of the best ways to teach preschoolers about any theme is by hand-selecting the highest-quality picture books! This is a book list of our best-loved picture books for an insect theme.
- Hardcover Book
- DK (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Lawton, Caroline (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Veitch, Catherine (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Daniels, Jaret C. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 128 Pages – 05/25/2021 (Publication Date) – Adventure Publications (Publisher)
- Anderson, Jessica Lee (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 56 Pages – 04/12/2022 (Publication Date) – Callisto Kids (Publisher)
- Hardcover Book
- McGavin, George (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Math and Science Activities for an Insect Theme in Preschool
Bumblebee Counting Cards – Print the template and grab some dice! Roll the die and count that many ants to the grass template. Feel free to head outside and see how many ants you can find!
One More One Less Ladybug Math – Learning more and less is so much fun with this ladybug game. Print the die and the recording sheet and use pom-poms, beads, or mini ladybugs to count. Roll the die and practice adding one more and one less to your page!
Ant Experiment – This experiment is so fun because you get to watch ant behavior and learn about their favorite foods! Plus, it uses food items you already have on hand.
Learning Activities for an Insect Preschool Lesson Plans
Move Like an Insect – Get up and get moving! Feel free to download the gross motor movement dice or just come up with different ways to move like an insect. Get the insect gross motor activity for free.
Bug Hunt – Head outside and go on a bug hunt. Ask an adult to use their camera and take pictures of every bug you spot. Then, come home and draw a picture of one or two of the bugs and color it and display it proudly.
Animal Tape Rescue – Grab some plastic animals or insects and some painter’s tape. Tape them to the table or to a piece of cardboard. Invite your preschooler to try and get them up without ripping the tape. What will their plan be? How many can they pull up safely?
Social-Emotional Activities for an Insects Preschool Theme
Learning Patience – Go to YouTube and read The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach. Being patient is not an easy task, especially for preschoolers. When a caterpillar notices that the other caterpillars are climbing up a tree to go through metamorphosis. He doesn’t know anything about that but he does know that waiting to become a beautiful butterfly is hard. He tries to escape early but he hasn’t grown his wings yet. After reading, discuss with your preschooler: When have you felt impatient? What can you do when you are feeling impatient?
Bee Kind – Learning to be kind is a critical aspect of preschool education. Invite your preschooler to share different ways to be kind and give specific examples of how they can be kind in their everyday life. Grab some rocks and paint them to look like bees. Head outside and leave them for people to find with a note that says, “Bee Kind!” Go to a local park or busy area and remind your preschooler that someone’s day will be brightened with this one-painted rock.
Just Plain Fun Insects Activities for Preschoolers
Firefly Suncatcher Art – Go to YouTube and read The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle. After listening, make your very own firefly! Using black construction paper and yellow tissue paper this firefly craft is sure to light up your day.
Insect Small World – Using plastic insects, dried white beans, and sticks, invite your preschooler to create a “small world” for their insects. Hide them under sticks and re-arrange them
Learn Cool Insect Facts – These insect matching cards help preschoolers refine their visual discrimination and sorting skills plus they offer interesting facts about everyday insects.
Get Online Activities for an Insects Theme
Online Story – Go to YouTube and listen to the story, In the Tall Tall Grass by Denise Fleming. After listening, discuss with your preschooler: What were some of the insects we met in this story? Share the words they used to describe what they were doing (munch, lug, zip, zap, etc.)? What other insects could we add to the story? Can you think of words we could use to describe them?
Meet Some Real-Life Insects – Check out these real insects and learn a few interesting facts about them too!
Here is the Beehive – Buzz along with this fun video and count the bees as they come out of their hive!
Get Your Free Insects Lesson Plans Here
Want to include these insect activities in your lesson plans? Ready to grab your free printable lesson plans with all these insect theme activities for preschoolers?!
No problem. I’ve made a printable for you. Just fill out the form below and it will be sent to your inbox.
FAQ About an Insect Preschool Theme
You may have a few questions about teaching this preschool theme! Check out these frequently asked questions for how to teach your preschoolers about insects.
Preschoolers can learn loads of information about insects! They can learn to classify insects and label body parts. Learn about how different insects have different life cycles and play different roles in our environment. Most importantly, children can learn that every insect plays a valuable role in nature and we should allow those insects to do their jobs.
It’s important for children to learn to respect and be kind to all creatures, including pesky ones that may often bother us. When children learn that these insects have an important job to do, like the bumblebee pollinating our food or the ants that help break down waste as an integral part of our food web.
Get outside and explore bugs! Infuse your literacy time with high-quality insect books and learn facts about unusual bugs that you might not come across in your everyday life. Use the free lesson plans below to create bug art and incorporate hands-on activities using play dough or pipe cleaners to make your own buggy friends!
Insect Toys for the Preschool Classroom
These insect items and hands-on materials are such a fun addition to your insect theme. These are some of the insect toys and activity kits I like to use with my preschoolers. We especially love the ant farm as we watch the ants go through the tunnels and trails. Plus, the jumbo insects are great for a sensory bin full of buggy friends!
- These creepy crawly counters turn learning early math concepts into fun adventures
- Master early math standards such as grouping, sorting, patterning, classifying objects, and counting
- Set of 72 counters in six colors includes grasshopper, bumblebee, beetle, spider, dragonfly, and…
- 【Perfect Toddler Puzzles】—8pcs puzzles for kids, insect animal shape. These wooden jigsaw…
- 【Toddler Toys & Gifts】–Cute Animal Pattern toddler wooden puzzles for Child- Each kids puzzles…
- 【Montessori Puzzles】–Faburo wood puzzles for toddlers have bright colors, vivid and cute animal…
- Insect World: 60 miniature bugs and insect figurines in a tube – colorful and realistic creepy…
- Includes: This lifelike set features 12 different kinds of insects like ladybugs, ants, scorpions,…
- Mini Figures: These realistic and detailed animal figurines are great for collecting, crafts, party…
- The matching cards game is very popular, kids love to play this game! It’s fun to play at home or…
- Our Montessori Matching Cards are well suited for Montessori Environments. They are clear,…
- The Montessori animal matching cards packet comes in set of 12 cards professionally printed on…
- If you encounter accessories in the use of the process is easy to fall, can not be glued firmly on…
- If you encounter hooks can not make the background plate stick to the wall, we recommend that you…
- AMAZING KIT: Giant 3.5 feet Shapes felt kit with 40 pieces comfortable size insect elements for…
- 🐝【 PRESCHOOL EDUCATIONAL TOY 】 Perfect montessori preschool sensory wooden toys game to…
- 🐝【 EXCELLENT QUALITY 】 The bees and the hive is made from high quality wood and designed to…
- 🐝【 PERFECTLY SAFE 】 Your child’s safety is our priority concern, this toy is all made from…
- 【What’s Included】 You will get 14 life cycle cards and a storage bag. Each card contains 4…
- 【Fun and Educational Toy】 This toy contains different stages of the life cycle of frog,…
- 【Improve Skills】 Children learn about the different stages of the life cycle by rotating cards,…
- PACKAGE: You will receive a big value pack of 30pcs fake bugs and insects set, including scorpion,…
- EDUCATIONAL INSECTS MODELS: Highly detailed and realistic, these fake plastic bugs and insects are…
- WIDELY APPLICATIONS: Kids love these fun realistic bugs/insects toys Halloween, they’re definitely…
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
