Bugs for Preschoolers - Part 3

Can you believe it is already June? Where has this school year gone? Adrian is almost done with preschool in "school with mama" as he affectionately calls it and then it will be off to our Summer Enrichment Program. I am still working on that "program" by the way. The units are not set in stone yet and I know the units themselves will be lighter in content and involving more games this time. Something to look forward to! :)

Counting Ladybug Dots

The control of error is a very important aspect of Montessori education yet I never really showed how I include it in my activities. Here, I am showing you how it was done with this ladybug math task. Adrian's job was quite simple; count the dots on the back of my homemade ladybugs. Once he was done counting, he could verify his answer by gently pulling back the wings of the insect. If his answer differed, he had to count the dots again; if his answer matched the numerical number, he could put the ladybug aside and move on to the next one. Please note that my ladybug counting activity was grandly inspired by Mari-Ann's at Counting Coconuts.

Counting and Peeling Ladybug Stickers

Peeling stickers, as small as these were, is considered in my house, a fine motor skills activity. I purchased these, made by Sticko, especially for a numerals and counters going from 1 to 10, knowing I had enough to do so (the sheet had 57 ladybugs so I peeled off 2 so Adrian wouldn't think he had made a mistake along the way). Adrian, like most kids, loves stickers so this was very fun for him to do. It could be done with any insect of course. Trilium Montessori kids, where I got this idea from, did it with all kinds of bugs confetti and glue and it looked beautiful.

Ladybugs Chewing a Leaf

After linking up one of my posts one week, a super cute printable caught my eye. Couldn't resist downloading my own copy (Thanks Measured Mom!) and happily used it this week. Adrian was very excited to use it as well. Anything involving stickers is a winner of course but I think he liked the concept of stickers, ladybugs, AND counting gathered together in one. He happily counted the dots on each sticker and then stuck it on the leaf. I will tell you, it wasn't always easy. I picked the leaf going from 1 to 20 so counting 20 small dots on a red sticker is straining for the eyeballs but he did it and was so proud of himself.

The Measured Mom is sure very helpful lately. Here's another printable I got from her: Ladybug Count & Clip Cards. There were a lot more than what you see here but I put only six out that day having already done a lot of math. I also chose to put out the plastic ladybugs for markers instead of the usual clothespins. A little variety is always fun, right?

Observing REAL Bugs

Observing real bugs outside is fun but not always easy. First of all, we had a very rainy week so going outside last week was very difficult (besides, bugs were all hidden...even the worms!). Thankfully, a few months ago, I ordered this real bug kit from Lakeshore Learning Materials. It came with quite a few bugs. At first, I kind of wished it provided us with more common insects (a fly, mosquito, butterfly...) because these are the ones kids encounter most often and know well and are most curious about but then again, I guess that's the reason why we were sent more "mysterious" ones; because the common ones are easier to find. Anyhow, equipped with a magnifier, Adrian looked at each bug and we talked about each as well. For some reason, he really likes the dung beetle now. Must have something to do with the fact that it rolls "poop" around and sometimes eats it. :)

Insect 3 Part Cards

How can you forgo nomenclature when you study insects with a nearly 5 years old? I got these for free from Montessori Helper. 

Butterfly "blot"

Blot painting is "easy". I've been wanting to introduce Adrian to this "technique" for a while now but decided that the perfect timing for this introduction would be when we'd talk about butterfly since these creatures are so symmetrical. I pre-cut a drawn butterfly and then Adrian chose to paint with a paintbrush on one half instead of dropping paint with a spoon/squeezing paint from the bottle on the paper. Of course, the top had time to dry a bit but that's ok. It's a learning process and there's nothing wrong with wanting to paint with brushes. Adrian just likes to use brushes when he paints. "We paint with paintbrushes", he said. :)

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Today, I'm happily linking up to

Montessori Monday, The Kids Co-Op, Show-and-Share Saturday, Link & Learn, TGIF, Share it Saturday, Mom's Library, The Sunday Showcase, Sun Scholars's For the Kids Friday, Stress-Free Sunday, Thursday Toddler & Preschool, Tuesday Tots, Preschool Corner &5K, Hammock Tracks' Look What We Did, Money Savings Monday, Serenity Saturday, Virtual Montessori Sharing Fair, Artsy Play Wednesday, Mommy Archive, and We Made That.

If you would like me to link up with you, please don't hesitate to ask, it might take me a week or two, but I generally do!