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Insects are one of my favorite nature studies to do with my kids! My boys loooove studying bugs. Here are some ways that you can study bugs as a family and some of our favorite supplies and resources. You can put these together to do a full blown unit study, or you can just add an activity here and there during your day.
Books
Ultimate Bug-opedia
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs
Peek inside a Beehive
Peek Inside Bug Homes
The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer
A Beetle is Shy by Dianna Hutts Aston
Bonkers About Beetles by Owen Davey
Grasshoppers and Crickets by Dorothy Childs Hogner
Eyewitness Explorers Insects
Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell
Bees: A Honeyed History by Piotr Socha
The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
The World of Bees
Lift the Flap Bugs and Butterflies
The Usborne Big Book of Bugs
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Butterflies
Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston
Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman
An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly by Laurence Pringle (this is one of my FAVORITE books)
Guide Books
Nature guide books are so important to have, especially ones that are relevant to your region. These are great to pull out when your kiddos find a tree that they can’t identify right away. Find a tree guide that is specific to your area! We have a Trees of Wisconsin book that’s super helpful for identifying local leaves/trees.
The Golden Guide books are my favorite nature guides.
A Golden Guide: Insects
National Audubon Society First Field Guide Insects
Golden Guide: Spiders and Their Kin
Golden Guide: Butterflies and Moths
Nature Journal
Grab a sketchbook (or any kind of notebook) and take it outside to start observing the bugs you see around your yard, in your neighborhood, or on a hike. Draw and label insects you find, including the parts of the insect. Dra their habitat too!
You can also do nature journaling from a book if you can’t actually go out to find bugs. If your kiddos collect nature specimens on their hikes, you can do nature journaling from those specimens later on also.
Make sure you check out this post if you haven’t done any nature journaling with your kiddos and want some tips on how to incorporate it.
Field Trips
- science museums – find a museum that has bugs displayed or a butterfly room
- zoos – some zoos have live insects, especially big spiders!
- library – bring home books about bugs and watch for any kids’ nights about bugs
- nature centers – look for classes specifically about insects
- honey farm – see if you can tour a honey farm and see how the bees make honey!
Supplies
- bug catcher kit
- insect and butterfly pop-up habitat cage
- magnifying glass and tweezers
- microscope
- net
- catch and release bucket
Resources
Posters/Cards
Brighter Day Press – set of nature anatomy posters (includes anatomy of an ant)
Chickie and Roo has some great printable posters and nature guides – this one is on butterflies, but she has others more that could fit with an insect study
Videos
(always preview videos to make sure you feel comfortable with your kids watching)
- The Fascinating World of Insects
- PBS Science Trek – Insects
- National Geographic Kids – Insects (this is a collection of videos on lots of different insects)
Comparisons
You can do this with live bugs you find, pictures, or with toy bugs
- sort them by color, size, shape
- compare two bugs – what do they have in common or what’s different
- use a Venn Diagram to compare the insects
Topics to study:
- habitats – study what type of habitat insects need, and create one! If you have
- parts of an insect – draw and label all the parts of an insect
- life cycles – study the life cycles of different insects.
- raise butterflies – find eggs in the wild on milkweed plants or order online; raise them and watch them spin into a chrysalis and emerge as a butterfly!
Engage the Senses
- Sensory Bins – If you have young kids, they might really enjoy an insect themed sensory bin.
- Movement – invite your kids to move like different insects!
Bug Hunt
Use these printables to guide you as you hunt for bugs in your yard or at a nearby park or hiking trail:
Poetry
There are some great poems about insects in these books:
- A Year of Nature Poems by Joseph Coelho
- National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
- Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian
Create your own poems about insects. Try different types of poems – try writing them in the shape of a bug!
Reports
If there’s a topic – like insects – that your kids are interested in, it’s a great way to start learning how to write reports. The first page below can be used for younger kids to start recording the important information when reading or listening to a book. The next page (or just a journal page) is great for collecting all that information into a paragraph (or longer) beginner report.