Rock Bugs - Homegrown Friends

I love our new little bug friends and so do my kids! Ever since we made them my children wake up each morning, take them off the shelf and build block structures for them. I’m a proud mama. I love when an activity is successful! One of the aspects of insects we focused on this week was the number of legs and whether or not an insect has antennae. While our rock bugs were mostly whimsical, I gave my children the choice of leg numbers and the addition (or not) or antennae.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ROCK BUGS

rocks
tempera paints
paintbrushes
hot glue gun
pipe cleaners
googly eyes

LET’S MAKE ROCK BUGS!

Begin by taking your children on a rock hunt. I speak in detail about this process here. So much learning occurs in the small everyday moments. Adding language to your child’s actions enhances the overall learning experience, aids literacy development and encourages curiosity. This is a great time to focus on your children’s senses. “Oh, look at this rock. How do you think it feels? This one is bumpy. This rock is smooth.” After collecting rocks I set up a rock cleaning station. I filled a bin with soapy water. Tip: if you are doing this indoors I recommend using the kitchen floor with a bath towel. Give your children small sponges or towels and let them enjoy the soapy fun. Rinse the rocks in water and dry with a towel.

Set up a painting area for your children. Using small containers, paint palettes or plates squeeze small amounts of red, yellow, blue, white and black tempera paint. Using primary colors, plus black and white, gives children the natural opportunities to discover color mixing. Give each child paint brushes, a water cup and paper towel or sponge for blotting. One of the concepts I am teaching my children is how to switch paint colors by rinsing the paint brush in water, blotting on the paper and then switching colors. This is a wonderful opportunity to practice sequencing.

Have your child choose a rock and paint it. Your child can make the rock look like one of the insects you are exploring or just have fun making a fantasy bug. Remember when speaking to your child about his artwork focus on the process of the art rather than the end product. “Look at the way you are putting blue on both sides.” “Wow, Charlotte, you made a new color! What paints did you mix together?” By verbalizing your child’s actions you are opening up a dialogue aiding literacy development and supporting creativity.

Once the paint dries give your child the opportunity to chose the number of legs for her bug and whether or not the bug will have antennae.

TO MAKE ROCK BUGS YOU WILL NEED:

painted rocks
googly eyes
pipe cleaners

Using a hot glue gun (note: this is an adult job) attach googly eyes, legs and antennae. Once dry slightly bend the legs.

I love, love, love these little guys! Seriously, I can’t get enough of them and neither can my kids. One of the first things my children did was take the Rock Bugs to our block area and made little block homes.

Luca spent a gorgeous sunny morning outside with the Rock Bugs. First lining them up and then having them talk to each other. These little bugs helped create the perfect platform for dramatic play and language development.