This month the Virtual Book Club for Kids is reading books by one of my favorite nonfiction children’s authors, Gail Gibbons. Earlier this month I shared some ideas for using books by Gail Gibbons to inspire a little summer learning. Today I’m excited to share the activities we did for this theme.
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Although we love many of the books by Gail Gibbons, it was very easy to choose Ladybugs as our book for this month. We’ve always been fans of ladybugs. Tinker’s first birthday was even a ladybug theme. (I couldn’t help but add a couple pictures of her party at the very end of this post, if you’d like to take a peak. She’s grown so much! )
Earlier this spring we also found tons of ladybugs around our home. We’ve been collecting, observing, and releasing them ever since. If you aren’t able to find ladybugs nearby, you can also order live ladybugs online. We did this for Tinker’s birthday, and all of the kids enjoyed it.
Ladybug Small World
We created a simple ladybug small world after reading the book a few times. Then we used the small world for pretend play and to retell main facts about ladybugs and the ladybug life cycle.
Materials
- Ladybug Life Cycle Stages 4-Piece Set
- Miniature ladybug toys
- Leaves (real and fake)
- Fake red flowers
- Twigs
Ladybug Invitation to Create
One morning I also set up this invitation to create. The kids used glue and the materials below to create different collages. I always enjoy seeing their creations!
Materials
- Card stock
- Tissue paper squares
- Red jewels
- Assorted ribbon pieces
- Small pompoms
- Confetti
Ladybug Math Activities
Ladybug Number Sense Math Centers
One More One Less Ladybug Math
MORE LADYBUG THEME FUN WITH PRINTABLE LESSON PLANS
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
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Preschool Ladybug Theme Lesson Plans
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
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Home Preschool Insect Theme Lesson Plans
Preschool Classroom Insect Theme Lesson Plans
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Jennifer Fischer
June 30, 2013 at 1:18 amI love your ladybug activities – Pinned and featured…http://jennifischer.blogspot.com/2013/06/kids-co-op-eric-carle-activities-bug-fun.html
Shaunna
June 30, 2013 at 8:42 pmThank you so much!
Mary Catherine
June 29, 2013 at 8:07 pmI’ve already pinned these awesome ladybug activities! What a fun way to extend Gail Gibbons’ book. Thanks so much for sharing at Stress-Free Sunday!
Shaunna
June 30, 2013 at 8:42 pmThank you! We loved learning more about ladybugs 🙂
Ashley
June 26, 2013 at 8:01 amSuper cute ladybug play! Featured you at Mom’s Library; thanks fro sharing!
Shaunna
June 26, 2013 at 7:55 pmThanks for the feature!
Mary Catherine
June 23, 2013 at 12:49 amYou always have such wonderful activities and play/explore invitations. I’ve already pinned this post so I can try out some of your ideas with my next insect unit. Thanks for linking up with Stress-Free Sunday!
Shaunna
June 25, 2013 at 8:45 amThank you, Mary Catherine! I hope your kiddos have fun with some of these activities.
JDaniel4's Mom
June 22, 2013 at 7:15 pmI need to start leaving out invitations to create for my son. I think he would love them. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing post on Read.Explore.Learn. I will be sharing this post.
Shaunna
June 25, 2013 at 8:45 amWe’ve been doing more invitations lately, and we are all loving them. It is always interesting to see how the kids utilize the materials. Thanks for sharing!
Kim @ The Educators' Spin On It
June 18, 2013 at 10:00 amThank you so much for sharing so many fun ladybug themed ideas with the Virtual Book Club for Kids! Can’t wait to create them with my daughters!
Shaunna
June 22, 2013 at 8:10 amMy pleasure to share! We love Gail Gibbons.
Tara from The Magnolia Barn
June 18, 2013 at 9:31 amSo many fun ladybug ideas! Looks like so much fun.
Shaunna
June 22, 2013 at 8:11 amThank you!
kristina
June 18, 2013 at 8:55 amThe birthday party looked adorable and I love the open-ended invitation to create! My kids also love ladybugs and would be a big fan if this activity!
Shaunna
June 22, 2013 at 8:11 amThank you…we had fun with the birthday, and invitations to create are quickly becoming a favorite around here.