CRAFTS

Library Craft Books

Check out a Craft book from your local library with a bug theme!

POPSICLE STICK CATERPILLAR:
Materials: wooden popsicle sticks (or store-bought craft sticks in different colours), small coloured pompoms, markers or googly eyes, white glue, facecloth for sticky fingers.
Step 1: Help your child apply white glue in a strip down one side of the craft stick or popsicle stick.
Step 2: Place coloured pompoms along the glue.
Step 3: Apply googly eyes with white glue to one end of the popsicle stick (or when the craft is dry have your child draw his/her own eyes).
Step 4: Allow the craft some time to dry.

WHAT TO DO WITH THIS CRAFT: You could hang them from a window using fishing line for a bright window display. You could give them to your child as a toy. They would also make a beautiful topper in place of a bow for a birthday or mother’s day gift.

Preschool

Craft Ideas:

Just as there are so many different types of insects, there are equally numerous crafts to make. Have your child pick his/her favourite.

NOTE: If you want this to be a more permanent craft you could glue the coffee filter and pipe cleaner to the clothes pin using white glue. Let it dry before you child plays with it.

LADY BUG ROCKS:
Materials: Small clean stones (you can go on a family rock to collect some or you can buy some at a dollar store), acrylic paint, paint brushes, waxed paper, paper plate for a paint pallet, a recycled container for water, paper towels to clean the brushes, art smock or old clothes to wear, plastic to cover your work are or old nesapapers, (optional) I highly recommend coating these with a glass glaze or sealer (from a craft store) as we left our stones out over winter and some of the dots peeled off and they aren't as bright anymore. I will post later which works better: Sealer or glaze as we should be making new stones this summer.

Step 1: Either have your child paint the rocks white or do this step before hand to speed things up. By giving them a base coat the colours go on brighter. Allow these to dry on your waxed paper to they won't stick.

Step 2: Paint the rocks a solid colour...red for traditional lady bugs but feel free to be creative and use other colours as well. We made orange and yellow ones. Allow these to dry.

Step 3: Paint a black face on the rocks. Then use the stick end (not brush end) of your paint brush to apply black dots (this meothod makes nice little black circles instead of blobs). Allow the rocks to dry.
Step 4: Use the stick end (not the brush end) of your paint brush to apply white paint dots to make cute little eyes. Allow these to dry and then add a tinier black dot with either black paint or sharpie pen.

Step 5: Place your rocks in your flower garden or give away as sweet little gifts!

Art by Carrie W

NOTE: There are many different variations to this craft. Here are some sites where I found the basics for our version.

For some tie-dye inspiration try these http://www.housingaforest.com/tie-dye-butterfly-on-a-stick/ or http://crafts.kaboose.com/butterfly1.html or to stamp up the wings check out this one http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2013/04/coffee-filter-butterflies-kid-craft.html

Glue a magnet to the back of this dragonfly craft and use it on your fridge to hold notes!

Photo: J. Rock

COFFEE FILTER BUTTERFLY:
Materials: Round paper coffee filters, washable markers, a spray bottle full of water, wax paper, wooden clothes pins, pipe cleaner, child safe scissors.
Step 1: Flatten the coffee filter and lay it flat on a piece of wax paper.
Step 2: give your child some colourful washable markers and have him/her colour all over the coffee filter. We found that designs didn't work very well but just splotches of colour did which makes this a really easy craft for toddlers and preschoolers.
Step 3: Let the filter dry or if you have no patience do what we did and dry with a hair dryer on the lowest setting.
Step 4: Once the filter is dry gather the top and bottom of the circle and pinch towards the centre to create the two wings. This is a good step for parents if you are doing this with little ones.
Step 5: Open the clothes pin and set the pinched middle in the pin so that when it is closed it will hold the paper in place.
Step 6: (Parent step) Cut some pipe cleaner into a smaller piece and bend over to create antennae. Pinch the pipe cleaner between the closed clothes pin as well

FINGERPRINT ANTS AND OTHER INSECTS:
Materials: Stamp (ink) pad, white paper, coloured markers , face-cloth for messy fingers.
Step 1: Have your child press a finger on the ink stamp pad and then press on the white sheet of paper.
Step 2: Show your child how you can turn the fingerprints into bugs by adding antennae and legs. Consider the number of body parts, too (for instance an ant has three body parts).

Step 3: Encourage your child to draw more details on the page (like spider webs, grass, ant hills, flowers etc.).
Step 4: Put your child’s art on display or glue it into your Family Theme Day Scrapbook.

PLASTIC BOTTLE CAP BEES:

Materials: Yellow plastic bottle caps (you could use other colours and just paint them yellow before hand), black permanent marker (we use a Sharpie), white glue, googly eyes, waxed paper, child safe scissors, facecloth for sticky fingers.

Step 1: Colour a face onto the bottle caps using the black marker.

Step 2: Draw black stripes using the marker.

Step 3: Cut out little ovals using the waxed paper and glue these to the bottle cap to look like wings.
Step 4: Glue googly eyes to the face of your bee.

Step 5: Let them dry on waxed paper and then your child can play with them or you can decorate your garden with them.

A Bright Idea:

STICKER COLLAGE:

Materials: Various stickers of bugs and insects and other creepy crawlies, coloured paper, markers and/or crayons (Optional).

Step 1: Let your child pick the colour of paper he/she wants to use for this craft and him/her various stickers to make either a collage or a scene.
Step 2: If your child so desires have him/her add details or embellishments to the scene.

CLOTHES PIN DRAGONFLIES:

Materials: Clothes pin, craft sticks or popsicle sticks, blue paint, paint brushes, waxed paper, glitter, white glue, newspaper or plastic to cover your work space, art smock or old clothes to wear, paper towels, paper plate as a paint pallet.

Step 1: Paint the clothes pin and popsicle sticks using shades of blue and purple or whatever your child wants.
Step 2: Sprinkle glitter on the clothes pin and craft sticks when they are still wet with paint (or use glitter glue if you have any). Let them dry on waxed paper.

Step 3: When dry glue the craft stick wings to the clothes pin using white glue. Glue in an "X" formation.
Step 4: Glue googly eyes to the front of the clothes pin with white glue. Let dry.

Step 5: Enjoy! Your child can play with these. Or you can decorate a present with them. Or you can pin to curtains or blinds.

EGG CARTON BUGS:
Materials: An empty paper egg carton, child-safe scissors, various colours of paint, paint brushes, jar of water, newspapers or plastic mat to lay out, paint clothes or smock (Optional: pipe-cleaners, googly eyes, white glue, facecloth for sticky fingers).

Step 1: Have your child determine what insect he/she would like to make.
Step 2: Help your child cut out the egg carton cups in various sizes depending on what creature(s) will be made (i.e. one cup for a ladybug, one or two cups for a spider, three cups for an ant, four or more cups for a caterpillar).
Step 3: Let your child paint the cup(s) however he/she likes for the type of bug being created.
Step 4: Let the cups dry then add more details (eyes, legs, antennae) with either more paint or with pipe cleaners and googly eyes.

Encourage your little artist to draw a picture of an insect. They can use a book for reference or a picture online, or even one in real life!

Bugs

Sometimes the simplest things, like stickers, make the best craft projects, especially if your child is little.

OTHER:
Look for any other bug related crafts at your local craft store, including foam insect finger-puppets or foam stamps for paints which is what we used to make a buggy picture!