going buggy! this week's summer spotlight!
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Monday, July 6, 2026
We’re so happy that you stopped by once again!
It’s Monday morning, so that means it’s time to share
This Week’s Summer Spotlight!
Throughout the summer,
we're shining a light on some of our favorite seasonal activities
that encourage children to play, explore, create, and connect
with the world around them.
This week's spotlight takes us outdoors
for one of childhood's simplest — and most fascinating —adventures,
exploring the amazing world of bugs!
Whether you're watching butterflies flutter by, searching for ladybugs, or peeking under rocks to discover tiny creatures at work, bug exploration encourages curiosity, careful observation, and a lifelong appreciation for nature. Best of all, it's an inexpensive adventure that's just waiting in your own backyard!
Most kiddos are fascinated when watching and touching
these tiny critters that crawl and fly!
Others (including some adults) are nervous and/or fearful of these creatures!
As we observe and interact with real bugs
we have the opportunity to calm our Little’s fears
and to model how to react when we see one!
Laurie’s Little D checking out the ants on the driveway!
Most bugs we see (especially here in Minnesota) cannot hurt us.
In fact, many help our world!
They all play a part in the food cycle of our planet
and nature will take care of what our wildlife needs!
Our Littles learn by watching us!
We’ve definitely each had our “oh, golly” moments internally
when it comes to holding insects while sharing them with the Littles around us!
But… on the outside it’s so important to model for little ones
how interesting and truly fascinating each creature is!
We can teach our Littles to watch insects closely,
even using a magnifying glass,
and
we can show them how to scoop them up gently
and observe silently to see what happens next!
(after all, we’re GIANTS to those little bugs)
What a gift to share these experiences with our Littles
while providing meaningful opportunities to model compassion…
This is especially true
when that urge to squash or step on a tiny bug strikes!
Below you’ll find 3 past ideas that we return to over and over again!
Each focuses on real bugs and learning more about them and their world!
#1 - See Those Bugs!
Real insects and spiders are so fascinating!
A few years back,
Laura’s Little L had a bit of trouble finding them on the sidewalk
so we put a piece of moist paper towel on a cookie sheet
and then added some dirt from the garden and spread it out.
Then we watched!
Soon the ants and a few other bugs appeared,
moving quickly across the paper towels!
Laura had a magnifying glass available
but Little L only wanted to use it to push the soil!
Older kiddos would totally LOVE the addition of the magnifying glass!
#2 - A Bug Buffet!
Have you ever gone through a buffet line
and been overwhelmed by all your choices?
What do you choose?
Maybe that’s the same way with bugs!
We took a deviled egg container (however - any shallow tray would work fine!)
and looked through our kitchens and picked out 6 different types of food.
We used crackers, butterscotch chips, almonds, an orange, cheese and honey,
But, again, any food choices would do!
In fact, that’s half the fun!
We arranged the food items in the tray and took the filled tray outside.
At this point, encourage your Littles to predict what they think the bugs will enjoy most. Set your timer and leave the tray. Then make occasional visits throughout the day, checking on the food and what’s happening around each!. Keep track of the most popular food! Older Littles will love keeping a log of their observations!
The popsicle sticks are there because we decided
the smaller bugs might need help climbing onto the tray!
#3 - A Bug Playground!
During the last week of school,
this activity was an annual event in Laurie’s kindergarten classroom!
A few years ago, she gave it a try with older Littles in her extended family!
FYI: This activity is STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) at its best!
Making the Bug Playgrounds!
Set out scrap paper, glue, tape and scissors. Demonstrate how to make a loop or tent by folding and twisting the paper and then let your Littles create a “playground” for the bugs! Encourage them to fold, twist, cut, curl to make dramatic feats for the bugs to try!
The younger Littles were happy after one section (page) of their playground was completed. They also needed help with the taping and gluing. But the older Littles really took to this. As you can see, their playgrounds kept growing and growing!
Another STEAM project Littles will love!
The finished playgrounds!!
Recess Time for the Bugs!
When your playgrounds are finished, follow these next steps!
1. Take your playgrounds outside and spray them lightly with sugar water.
2. Sprinkle some crackers or bread crumbs on the playground.
3. Now wait and observe!
Definitely… Worth the wait!
Not every bug adventure has to involve the real thing or happen outdoors!
After you've spent time exploring nature together, the fun can continue!
Check out these 3 ideas,
playful bug-themed crafts, games, and imaginative activities!
#1 - Toddler Time & Bugs!
When Little L was a toddler, Laura invested in this set of realistic bugs!
They are colorful and they’ve been used countless times during the past few years!
Below were some of our favorite ways to use them
when Little L and then her younger sister Little P, were toddlers!
SENSORY PLAY!
One of the easiest activities for babies or toddlers is to set out a bowl of plastic bugs, and just let them explore them. The legs, wings, antennae will all provide different sensory fun for them. This will work well for tummy time or while sitting in a high chair!
For older infants/toddlers (like Little L) you could also add some green paper shreds (or newspaper shreds) to a bin and hide the insects in there!
CATCH THE BUG!
Your crawling or walking Littles will be delighted with this activity and your stationary ones will have fun tracking the bug! Tie a string around your plastic bug and let your infant/early toddler Littles watch it creep around the floor! Laura’s Little L had fun walking the bug and then chasing it, too!
BUGGY PEEK-A-BOO!
Laura and her Littles had fun with this game, too! In fact, when her little sister (Little P) was a toddler, Little L wanted to be the one who said “Where is it?”
We hid an insect under the pop-it toy for our Littles to find… over and over again! Lots of giggles!
Check out this short video! It’s a favorite!
#2 - Painting with Bugs!
Put out a plate of paint, lay out some plastic bugs
and encourage your Little to use them for painting!
The different types of bugs make interesting shapes and lines on the paper!
Laurie’s Little D sure had fun exploring and creating!
#3 - Bug Fossils!
Recently we (Laura and her Littles) used our play insects in this new way!
This activity is simple but proved to be, oh so, fun!
Gather your materials together - playdough and plastic bugs! That’s it! Then roll the playdough into balls and then flatten each out into a pancake.
The Littles can then press the different plastic bugs into the playdough and then pull them off to see each bug imprint!
Such fun!
Not only did we enjoy making the fossils, but then we found ourselves playing with them in the following ways…
Match the Fossil to the Bug! For this activity we mixed up the plastic bugs and then the Littles found the fossil (playdough imprint) that matched! Four-year-old Little L found this task easy to do while Little P was a bit more challenged!
An Archeological Dig! We put the fossils in a bin that we’ve filled with brown paper shreds. The Littles then went hunting for the fossils in the “dirt”! Older Littles would have fun if they (or you) actually put the fossils in the ground, covered in dirt to be followed by digging them out of the dirt. Have little brushes and/or magnifying glasses available as “archeologist” tools, too!
These playful bug-themed activities are a wonderful way
to build on what you've discovered together
while creating even more opportunities to learn, laugh, and make memories.
Here are some more of our favorite bug-inspired activities
to keep little imaginations buzzing!
Go on a Backyard Bug Safari!
Give your Littles a cardboard tube (an instant telescope) or make a simple magnifying glass out of a cardboard cutout and plastic wrap. Then head to the yard, a park, or even just the cracks in the sidewalk and look under rocks, the underside of leaves, and on flower petals.
Create Egg Carton Critters!
Don't throw away that empty cardboard egg carton! It is the perfect anatomy lesson disguised as an art project. Your Littles can cut the egg carton into individual cups or strips of three (perfect for showing a bug's three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen). Then let them go wild with paint, markers, or dot markers. Use whatever you have in the junk drawer for legs and antennae—pipe cleaners, real twigs from the yard, bent paperclips, or strips of construction paper. Add some googly eyes or just draw them on with a sharpie.
The Build-a-Bug Playdough Lab!
This is a sensory activity that keeps little fingers busy while exploring how bugs are shaped. Roll out a few balls of playdough. On a tray, gather a variety of loose household items: dried pasta (spaghetti makes great antennae, rotini looks like caterpillars), beans, buttons, bottle caps, and small sticks. Challenge them to build their own unique insects!
Capture the Bugs!
This game takes almost NO prep and your Little will love it! Simply scatter some plastic bugs across the living room. When you say “go” your Little(s) run around the space and collect the bugs and put them in a fun container (aka a bug catcher)!
Let’s Go Buggy Together!
The world of bugs is an amazing one!
We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this topic!
Please share your comments at the end of this post!
Most weeks, you’ll find us posting additional content on
You can find lots of resources (including past years' summer themes)
on our Pinterest site, too…
We’ve got quite a collection of ideas available!
We’ll be back later this week with our look back at the month of June.
Please join us as we share our
Then, we hope you’ll stop by often during these summer months to check out
future Summer Spotlights and even more!
And, don’t forget, it’s easy to sign up to subscribe to our blog!
That way, you won’t miss it when we publish a new post!
As This Week's Summer Spotlight comes to a close,
we hope you'll take a little time to slow down,
look a little closer, and discover the fascinating world
that's buzzing, crawling, and fluttering all around you!
And remember, our Littles don't need us to have all the answers…
They simply need someone willing to wonder alongside them!
After all, some of childhood’s sweetest discoveries take place
with a little time, a little curiosity
And a willingness to look closely at the world right at our feet!
💗 We are delighted to join the following link up parties and blog hops! 💗
MONTHLY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
When I was a kid, we loved catching lighting bugs. We'd put them in a glass jar with holes in the lid. The jar was placed on my dresser. It would light up my room. A soft glow. That was always fun and comforting.
My girls used to love bug hunting when they were little. There is a lot to learn from the little creatures. What fun activities.
I was an avid bug watcher when I was a child! I liked to catch grasshoppers and I'd keep them in a jar for a bit and feed them all kinds of leaves before eventually letting them go. We have a few wonderful Butterfly Pavilions in Colorado where butterflies of all kinds fly around while you walk through an enclosed tropical garden. The exhibits also show tarantulas which are native ti SE Colorado and many ant farms and bee hives.
I love the bug playgrounds! When my boys were young we had a little container with a magnifying glass on the lid. We had a good look at the bugs, then released them again. In the meantime, we love to eat outdoors in the summer but the ants are driving us mad! They don't get released again, if you know what I mean!
So many fun ideas! I think the only time we really studied real life bugs was when we were hatching ladybugs and butterflies. Though I always wanted to get the boys an ant farm too.