How we learn bugs in English
Youngsters love observing bugs outside and playing with them indoors. Plastic bug figurines give much scope for creativity. Lots of games for learning can be organized. It is very convenient to take them everywhere you go since they don't take up much space.
We use bugs:
- to learn their names in English;
- to count;
- to manipulate in order to develop fine motor skills;
- to sort;
- enrich sensory feelings.
Before I share our list of activities, I suggest looking through a short dictionary of useful words and expressions.
| The list of popular insects | The parts of the insects | Actions that bugs perform |
|
| Dragonflies fly and hover. Bumblebees (and hornets) sting. Crickets hide in leafy places. Butterflies feed on nectar. Snails crawl slowly. They have a hard shell for protection. Caterpillars eat as much as they can. Bees make honey. Praying mantis hunt other insects. Ants build very big anthills. Ladybirds have black spots. Spiders make webs. Scorpions have a poisonous tail sting. Let's see how we can learn and play with bugs. |
Let's see how we learn with bugs in English and play with them.
1. Sensory bins.
We can play with sensory bins in several ways.
Variant 1: Hide the bugs in the bin. If your child is not familiar with them, start with 4-5 figurines. When a child finds a bug, say its name loud and clear and encourage the kid to repeat it. Then describe some actions: The dragonfly is hovering. The caterpillar is crawling.
Variant 2: Ask your child to find a bug that you name: Where is a butterfly? In this way, you check vocabulary recognition. For older children, prepare cards/ pictures of what they should find
Variant 3: Roleplay how insects greet, talk, visit each other, and play together. It is a great way to enlarge vocabulary and practise dialogues.
2. Sorting activities.
Sorting helps to develop logical thinking. The easiest sorting is by colour. Prepare colourful bowls or paint colourful circles on a piece of paper. For toddlers use 3-4 basic colours, while preschoolers can cope with 6-8 colours. Every time a child takes a bug, ask him what colour it is.
Next children can sort figurines by other characteristics: wings or no wings, 6 legs or 8+ legs, by size etc.
3. Matching figurines to pictures.
This game helps preschoolers improve visual discrimination skills, thinking and word recognition. Spread the cards with bugs and figurines on the table/floor. The child matches bugs to the cards. This task can be challenging since the illustrations are not the exact copy of the figurines. Assist your child if needed, start with the easiest one, and ask some guiding questions.
4. Bugs fossils.
This activity was inspired by this website. You will need playdoh and bugs. While a child closes his eyes, press an insect into the dough. Then a child guesses the bug on the imprint. Then change roles.
5. Game "Catching bugs."
I got the inspiration for this activity from Pre-pages. Put insects in the container. Roll the dice and identify the number. Using the tweezers pick up the corresponding number of bugs from the container. At the end of the game, count how many bugs you have and compare them with other participants.
And of course, we read books about bugs and adore fingerplays. There will be an article about it very soon.
Have a nice time learning and playing with bugs!
