Egg Carton Ladybug Preschool Craft & Ladybug Fun Facts!!

Our yard may need a warning sign: any ladybug that lands here can expect to be held, named, loved, and temporarily relocated to an observation-friendly habitat by very little hands.  And you can expect to have a ladybug preschool craft created in your honor.

Yes, our kids love ladybugs!  We also love egg carton crafts, so these little bugs were extremely popular!

The best part?  They use very common materials.  I literally opened our craft drawer and said, "How can make a ladybug craft today?"  And these adorable little bugs were born!

Your kiddos can make their own set too!  Here's the easy How-To.  Of course, you can easily adapt the concept to whatever supplies you happen to have on hand or whatever mood you are in.  Go on...have fun!  And, just for you ladybug-loving friends out there, I included ten Fun Ladybug Facts below too!

Egg Carton Ladybug Preschool Craft

Simple Supplies:

* Egg carton cups, cut out

* black or brown fuzzy sticks (or "pipecleaners") and scissors

* paint and brushes

* wiggly eyes

* sharp nail

Easy How-to:

1.  Preparation:  Cut out one egg carton cup for each ladybug.  Also for each ladybug, cut one fuzzy stick in half.  Then cut one of the halves into 2-4 pieces, depending on how long you want the antennae.  Finally, use the nail to pre-poke holes at the top for antennae.

2.  Paint the ladybug!  Preschoolers loves paint, and it is excellent fine motor exercise!!  Just look at all the different paint-brush-holding skill levels we had represented!

You could let them dry at this point, but we just carried on making our ladybugs.  You may just get a little extra paint on your fingers.  

3.  Make your ladybug face by rolling half a fuzzy stick/pipecleaner into a spiral.  Attach the face with hot glue.  You can see the spiral pretty easily in this little ladybug below.  The preschooler who made him thought it would look best if the eyes were not on the face.  

4.  Stick the eyes on the face...or the body.  :)  We used self adhesive wiggly eyes (you can an affiliate link at the bottom of this post), but you can also use non-self adhesive eyes and stick them on with glue.

5.  Stick the antennae into the pre-poked holes.

6.  Optionally, add legs (more fuzzy stick/pipecleaner).

Ta da!!  Super fun ladybugs!  

This one was a rainbow ladybug:

They come in lots of colors, you know!

Look!  They're having a party!!

Ladybugs are also great to learn about!  Try catching one and carefully putting it in an insect observation bucket for half an hour.  See what body parts you can identify.  Be sure to carefully release it when you are done!

And, here are 10 Super Fun Ladybug Facts:

1.  Not all ladybugs are "ladies."  Unfortunately, it is very difficult to tell males and females apart.  Sometimes they are even identical on the outside!

2.  There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs and about 400 of them live in North America!

3.  Ladybugs eat other bugs like aphids, mites, and bollworms.  They also can eat pollen and mildew.

4.  Ladybugs can release a bad-smelling (and bad-tasting) orange chemical from their "knees" when they are stressed.

5.  Ladybugs hibernate!  Actually, insect hibernation is caused diapause...it is basically a "pause" in the insects life cycle.  When the weather cools below 55 degrees, ladybugs crawl under logs or patios and wait for the weather to warm up again.  They can last for nine months in diapause!

6.  Ladybugs can be colored red, black, yellow, pink, "rainbow," blue, brown, and more!

7.  Ladybugs are technically a beetle...and often called Lady beetles!

8.  Ladybug spots do not tell you how old they are.  

9.  When a ladybug flies, its wings can beat 85 times a second!

10.  Ladybugs chew their food from side to side!

Do your kids love ladybugs?

Be sure to check out my {FREE} Ladybug Math Activity,  {FREE} Ladybug Count & Clip Cards, and this Kindergarten Ladybug Unit!! 

 

I may share at any of these parties!

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