“Bugs” Theme Learning Shelf
Bug Identification, Ladybug Life Cycle, Outdoor Exploring, Tracing Practice and More – All in one learning shelf!
I made this Bugs Theme Learning Shelf for our 2 year old (29 months) in order to start preparing her for school. Not only is this learning shelf easy to set up, but I add new activities and crafts throughout the week to offer a range of learning opportunities and it’s so fun!
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After noticing our 2yr. old was finishing her individual activities within minutes, I realized she needed a much larger variety with consistently new options. She’s currently learning counting, tracing, letters, plus she’s developing her curiosity about nature and she loves to be outdoors. This was a great way to introduce all of those learning opportunities with a common theme. She was most excited to go outside and look for bugs to catch in each of the three containers from the Educational Insights BugWatch Kit so we could take a closer look before releasing them back outside.
You can add multiple learning components plus several books and watch your toddler completely engage!
Here are the various activities and crafts I included:
1.) I laminated a tracing practice sheet and included a dry erase marker for tracing practice. (Tracing straight lines helps prepare them for writing and enables them to learn to trace letters.)
2.) This Free Ladybug Life Cycle Printable from https://teachingmama.org/
3.) Our toddler painted toilet paper rolls and made them into the butterflies, the “ballerina bee”, and the ladybug as her bug crafts the week before I set up this learning shelf. She also made two flowers for her bugs to enjoy and practiced her scissor skills. I thought they were perfect decorations and I incorporated the ladybug into her ladybug anatomy learning sheet.
4.) I included the following books:
- The Bug Book
- I Like Bugs
- I’ve Got This! (A vacation Bible school inspired book about a Bee that builds self confidence)
- I Can Do Anything!(A book about a tiny termite who can achieve anything because God is for her)
5.) I will be adding this Magnifying Glass during the week to create a new outdoor exploring activity. Magnifying glasses are great for children to take a closer look at things and can be incorporated into every learning shelf theme.
6.) I will also be adding this Real Bugs Discovery Kit which has 12 different real bugs encased in clear acrylic so kids can safely explore them from every angle. They can also look at these real bugs through a magnifying glass.
Miss 2 is really enjoying thinking through each task. Throughout the Ladybug Life Cycle learning activity, she kept referring back to things we saw outside during our exploring activity. (We happened to find a little set of eggs just like the ones in the photo and she was so excited to know exactly what we were talking about.) This is a definite must try!
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