6 Songs That Teach Preschoolers and Toddlers About Insects

by Sep 25, 2019Music, Parents, Teachers

Insects are an exotic part of the world when everyone is saying “stay away from that bee!” Childhood is a great time to learn about the world’s insects and all the great things they do. Bees aren’t bad. They just sting when they’re afraid of us. While spider bites are bad for us, that doesn’t make spiders bad creatures. We just need to learn to appreciate them in the right way. Use these great songs to show your preschoolers how awesome insects are!

Try replacing one item with another item and hope the children will like it!

These six songs are sure to get your children interested in all these weird insects and how they can fly, roll up into balls, transform, etc:

1. Ants go Marching One by One

Count all the ants! Maybe your kids shouldn’t try this at home.

How Children Learn About Insects

One of many songs to teach children how to count without mistakes. Children enjoy marching, singing, and counting around the room. Using their motor skills and singing will allow the children to remember how to count in order without any mistakes.

Ants are everywhere. You find them in your house, outside, at school, on the playground, you name it. Why not let them know ants are classified as insect. Describe to the children the colors, shapes, and sizes of ants.

Modifications

Try sitting down and singing this song using props to show children objects to their corresponding numbers. Have the children out one finger for one ant, two fingers for two ants, etc., it can get pretty fun!

2. I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee

Here’s a song about how children need to be careful around bees. They sting! And it hurts!

How Children Learn About Insects

I’m on the fence about this song. Music about killing bees isn’t my favorite thing because I love having bees in my garden. However, it’s a cute song.

Bees can be found in the garden, especially during the spring season. Explain to children how bees are useful in making honey. However, we should stay away from bees if you don’t want to be stung because it hurts. Talk about the colors and sizes of the bees. And when and where they can be found.

Modifications

Make bumble bees puppets and give it to each child while singing the song. Children enjoys having props and singing along to the song.

3. Itsy Bitsy Spider

There are many versions of the Itsy Bitsy Spider song. Children enjoy using their fingers to pretend to be a spider. It is an easy song to sing for the little ones.

How Children Learn About Insects

All children know about spiders and how scary it can be. Give them a little more detail about the different types of spider and why they are classified under insects category. It would be a great idea to teach the children about the parts of a spider. You’ll be amazed to see and hear the children use the following vocabulary when talking to their parents: feelers, abdomen, and spinnerets.

Modifications

Try using spider props to let it climb your arms as the water spout. Children have a lot of fun and will be giggling throughout the song.

4. Roly Roly Poly

I love the Roly Roly Poly song. It is simple and cute for the children to perform the actions. They are using their motor skills and learning opposite words such as big, small, fast, slow, up, and down.

How Children Learn About Insects

It would be great to introduce to the children the fact that rolly pollies are insects that actually rolls up into a ball when they get scared.

Modifications

There is not a whole lot to change, but I am sure you can come up with your own ideas. You can teach the children to roll up into a ball, but don’t try getting them to roll slow or fast because it can get loud.

5. Hungry Caterpillars

This is a great song to teach children about an insect that transforms from a caterpillar into a butterfly in just a couple of weeks.

How Children Learn About Insects

This a great way to teach children that caterpillars are insects that turn into a butterfly. Not only that, butterflies also fall under the insect category too. You can talk to the children about the butterfly cycle. Be prepared to answer the children’s questions because they will be asking you the same questions over and over again.

Modifications

Have your children pretend to be butterflies and fly around the classroom! Just be careful that they are not being goofy and flying into each other.

6. Five Little Ladybugs

Five Little Ladybugs is a gentle, fun song about how a group of insects is slowly disappearing for different reasons. Each ladybug basically freaks out for a different reason and flies away.

How Children Learn About Insects

Children will learn that ladybugs are insects that fly. If they get lucky, they’ll spot a ladybug on leaves or grass. Teach the children that ladybugs are typically red bugs known as insects with black spots that fly around seasonally.

Modifications

Children can pretend to be ladybugs and fly from one area to another in the room. You can also create ladybug props to practice counting, adding, and subtracting during the song.

Don’t forget to craft a ladybug with your kids one day!

Buzz, Roll, and Transform With Your Kids

Insects do a lot of great and unique things that people don’t. These are great songs to pretend to be something creative, yet actually exists in nature. Caterpillars are nature’s shape-shifters! Without bees, the world has almost no food! Ants live literally everywhere! Insects are awesome, and so are you! Without preschoolers, songs, and insects, what fun is there anyway?

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