Spiders, butterflies, caterpillars—bugs! Are you ready to dive into some insect-themed activities and crafts with your toddler? I have some fabulous insect activities to share with you today.

These activities are perfect for children from 18 months through to 2 1/2 years old. By about 18 months of age, young children begin to really refine and develop their fine motor skills. This includes things like grasping and pinching, tasks that are excellent for strengthening those small hand muscles! 

This post is full of activities for toddlers that build fine motor skills.

Fine motor skills are only one of the many areas of development for our toddlers. Luckily, all of the areas of development can easily be met through play!

Personally, I love doing one activity a day with my toddler anyways! It helps us to break up that long day and give it some gentle structure. Plus, it ensures we are having special time together as well each and every day. I also love structuring our activities around a theme, as it allows us to dive into all different books, poems, and learning. 

In fact, having a simple toddler activity planned for you each and every day—in exactly this way—is what my Playful Days Toddler Program is all about!

Playful Days is divided into seven themes, one of which is… Can you guess? INSECTS!

We build vocabulary and build a strong knowledge base by playing with all sorts of activities. Not only will this provide your little one with a beautiful foundation for learning, but it will provide just the right amount of structure to those long days at home with wee ones, and build beautiful memories as well.

The activities below are great examples of the daily activities you will find in my Playful Days Toddler Program!

You can read all about my Playful Days Toddler Program right here: https://www.howweelearn.com/playfuldays/

And just before we dive into these insect-themed activities for toddlers, would you like a fun printable to enjoy together? This one is totally free and a wonderful, learning-filled activity for you to enjoy with your toddler. You can grab it right here:

Insect Themed Activities and Crafts for Toddlers

These activities are great examples of similar activities that can be found in my Playful Days Toddler Program.

Butterfly Art – This fun butterfly craft plays with the idea of symmetry and introduces little ones to yarn wrapping as well, which is a great hand-eye coordination skill. 

Feed the Hungry Caterpillars by Two-daloo (only image available) – This is such a fun activity for toddlers and perfect for building those fine motor skills. Take two tubes with plastic lids and cut a slit in the lids. Cover the sharp edges with duct tape and let your little one pop those pompoms into the caterpillar’s mouth.

Invitation to Build a Bug by Cutting Tiny Bites – Cut out some big shapes of various sizes and colors and let your toddler build a bug! He might build something that resembles a bug—or he might build something that looks nothing at all like a bug, but it doesn’t matter in the least. Creating and making is what this one is all about. 

Coffee Filter Ladybug by Nontoy Gifts – We make a similar craft to this one in our Playful Days program, except we turn them into butterflies! Creating ladybugs is a great twist on this classic toddler activity. And squeezing that spray bottle is not only awesome for strengthening little hands but tends to be a favorite for toddlers. 

Butterfly Nature Craft by Crafts on Sea – Grab a basket and head outside to gather all sorts of nature treasures. Challenge your older toddlers to try to find two of everything. Now bring those treasures inside and glue them onto a butterfly cut-out! Older toddlers can try to glue one matching nature item on each side, playing with symmetry. 

Bug Rescue by Turner’s Tots – Adding string or tape across the top of a sensory bin adds a fun challenge for toddlers! Can your little one rescue the insects?

Bee Finger Puppets by A Dab of Glue Will Do – Practice counting and singing with these cute little bee finger puppets made from pipecleaners. These would also be excellent in a sensory bin and perfect for imaginative play as well! 

Sticky Spider Web by Hands On As We Grow – Perfect for running and jumping, this sticky tape spider web is easy to set up in any door frame and sure to have your toddler giggling as he plays!

Playdough Bug Fossils by Plain Vanilla Mom – Roll out some playdough, stick in some plastic bugs, and let your little one remove those insects to reveal fossils! This is a great opportunity for toddlers to explore lots of kitchen utensils, tweezers, and other manipulatives. 

And there you have them, my friend! Some fun and simple insect-themed activities and crafts for toddler.

But please remember: keep it easy on yourself! I created Playful Days just for Moms like YOU! So you can play with your little ones, break up that day, and make some memories too. You are definitely going to love my Playful Days Toddler Program. One activity every day! Check it out right here: https://www.howweelearn.com/playfuldays/

Thank you so much for reading,

xo
Sarah