We are partnering with Wedderspoon Manuka Honey to bring you these 30 fun bee and bug activities for kids and a free printable calendar. All these buzzworthy activities focus on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds. April is Earth Month so let’s get our kids in the backyard all month long and learn about our insect neighbors.
Spend Time Outside
The key to these fun crafts is they can all be done at home in your backyard or in your park and neighborhood. You probably already have all these supplies in your house, or they can be acquired easily at a local craft store. All of us (including adults) need outdoor time and these creative pollinator activities are perfect for us to spend quality time with our kids outside. You never know what you will learn about bugs – or each other.
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There are 30 days of activities – a whole month’s worth of fun! Because these insect activities are focused on our pollinator friends, they can even be grouped together as a unit study. Each of the activities has a description, a link to step-by-step instructions if needed, and free printables.
Free Insect Activity Printable
To get you started, I have created a free outdoor activity printable for you. It lists all the activities in a logical order; bees, butterflies, birds, and more. You can go in any order you like, but my suggestion is to start on day 1 and continue through.
Print this off and as you complete your activities, tag me on social media @lilfamadventure with pictures of how much fun you’re having. I would love to see what you are doing and how you are enjoying these activities.
Earth Day & Earth Month
Earth Day is April 22nd every year, and the entire month of April is dedicated as Earth Month. It’s a good time to focus on being planet conscious and eco-friendly. I’ve enjoyed working with Wedderspoon, a honey company that I have bought for several years. They sell the only Manuka Honey I will ever buy as well as many other honey-infused products. As a responsible company, they want to educate others on sustainable honey production and support bee conservation. They even have great information about pollinators on their site.
Bee and Insect Activities for Kids
1. Create a nature journal with your child to record what they see and what they do. You can use this tutorial on creating a nature journal to create your own version for the month ahead. Use a bug theme to decorate the front cover.
2. Go outside for a nature scavenger hunt. We have this free printable pollinator scavenger hunt. It includes many things you can find outside as well as tips to help bees.
4. Do honey tasting. Nectar used to make honey is gathered from different flowers, trees, and plants so no two types of honey taste quite the same. Gather together different honey varieties including Wedderspoon Manuka Honey made exclusively in New Zealand.See if you can taste the difference between honey from different sources. After you’ve tried them all, do a blind taste test.
5. Go on a bee hunt. Create bees from plastic easter eggs and then go on a bee hunt.
6. Create a recycled bee craft. This bee craft is a fun one using cardstock from Simple Everyday Mom. Can you create the queen bee?
7. Create your own big pollinator-themed tic-tac-toe game with stones, wood, and paint. This tutorial from Chicken Scratch NY shows you how.
8. Bake a Bumble Bee Cake. Get in the kitchen to bake together and create this bumble bee-themed cake.
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9. Do a backyard biodiversity study – Go in the backyard and see the living things that inhabit your space. Here’s a guide for doing a backyard nature study. This is one of my favorite bee activities for preschoolers because they are so close to the ground and notice the smallest things.
10. Go bird watching – Take a walk around the neighborhood or head to a local trail to do some bird watching.One of the apps we really like to use to help ID birds is Merlin Bird ID. It’s free!!
11. Create bee-utiful themed greeting cards or pictures for neighbors or residents of a nursing home. They can include a simple note, encouraging nature quotes, or just a message that you are thinking of that person inside. Deliver them by leaving them on doorsteps.
12. Learn more about honey bees. Bees are essential to any garden. Honeybees gather pollen and nectar and in doing so, they cross-pollinate crops. As bees cross-pollinate, more flowers and plants will grow in a garden! Find out more about honeybees through this free online lesson plan from Fun For Kids
13. I Spy Pollinators – Go for a walk and play a game of I Spy focusing on pollinators.
14. Bumblebee Garden Stakes are a cute craft for kids to make, using recycled materials. Celebrate your love for pollinators from preschool on up!
15. Read/listen to a story about honey bees. Go outside if you like and read a book or listen to a story about bees. Here are 18 buzzworthy bee books for readers of all ages. One of my favorite books is the Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco. It’s a fun way to practice sight words, too.
16. Make Trail Mix Cookies. Get in the kitchen together to make these gluten-free cookies made with honey.
17. Do some Earth Day puzzles, crosswords, and games. Tree Valley Academy has these printables for kids with Earth Day words.
18. Start a garden journal with these journal templates from Shrimp Salad Circus.
19. Learn about butterflies. Do a Butterfly Unit Study and how to grow your own at home. Includes book list, youtube clips for kids, and movies! There is a butterfly life cycle printable too!
20. Grow your own butterfly garden with plants and flowers that attract butterflies. Simplify Live Love has this easy-to-follow tutorial on growing a butterfly garden with recommended plants.
21. Coloring Pages – Pollinators need flowers for food. Get these free flower coloring pages from Red Ted Art and let your kids practice their fine motor skills.
22. Create an Insect Puppet. Learn about Monarch Butterflies and then create this Monarch Butterfly Stick Puppet from Fireflies and Mud Pies
23. Create an outdoor bird feeder. Homemade bird feeders are easy to construct. This birdseed feeder tutorial makes one with stale bagels, peanut butter, and birdseed.
24. Create Coffee Filter Butterflies. All you’ll need to make these beautiful coffee filter butterflies are pipe cleaners, coffee filters, and some watercolor paints!
25. Go on a backyard photo safari in search of beautiful beetles, busy bees, and other interesting insects. Leave little bites of food to lure the bugs and insects closer. Take photos of your new six-legged friends and write about them in your nature journal.
26. Create a ladybug hotel. This ladybug hotel from Pink Fortitude is another of my favorite bug crafts. It’s made with 100% sustainable and organic materials and it turned out to be pretty stinkin’ cute or you can create this wooden bug hotel from Fireflies and Mudpies.
27. Create bookmarks. You won’t have to worry about losing your place the next time you pick up a book to read with these cute DIY bookmarks. Here’s one of a felt bird bookmark and a craft stick Bumble bee.
28. Learn about mason bees. Exceptionally easy to raise, Mason Bees are ultra-gentle uber-pollinators that will improve the health and well-being of your flowers, fruit crops, and garden.
29. Create a pollinator sensory bin. Teach young children about pollination with this sensory bin. It’s interactive and can be modified for older kids with the free printable discussion cards. Sensory bins are a great way to practice motor activity.
30. Go for a walk and see if you can spot any pollinators. Write about them in your nature journal or get up close and make insect videos to show your friends.
For more activities you can do with kids, try:
- Camping at Home Activities and Games
- Science Experiments You Can Eat
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