This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Powerful Mothering is supported by its audience, thankyou!
The children’s book Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee follows the adventure of a little girl and her summer explorations! She catches bugs, chases frogs, and of course drinks lots of lemonade. Enjoy this story with your child, talk about what makes summer so special, then give this themed bug catching game for kids a try!
Make a Bug Catching Game for Kids
Just like the little girl in the story loves chasing bugs, your kids will love catching a few of their own!
Here is what you will need to make your own bug catching game for kids:
bug net (found at most Dollar Stores)
assorted plastic or rubber bugs
permanent marker
As mentioned, you can find these supplies at your local Dollar Store like we did. You don’t need anything fancy, and any small handheld net and bug set will do just fine.
Directions:
For this example, we are using the concept of number identification to play the game. So write numbers 1-10 on your plastic bugs. You should put one number per bug. If you wanted, you could base this game on letter identification, making a letter on each bug. You have some flexibility on how you want to play! NOTE: if there is not room to write a number, place a small sticker, label, or piece of tape on top of the bug and write the number on it instead.
Once the numbers are written on each bug, place them on a flat surface number side up.
Give each child a bug net. You can give them the net ahead of time to decorate if you wish. This could be a fun activity for them while you are marking each bug with either a letter or a number.
Once each child has a net and the bugs are laid out, give them a riddle. For example you could say “1+1=?” In this case, the child would take the net and slap it over the bug with the #2 on it. You could also give riddles such as, “How many fingers are on one hand?” and in this case, the child would place the net over the bug with #5.
Continue playing until each bug has been caught. You can easily make questions up as you go along, or you can write them down ahead of time.
As soon as children get a hang of the game, switch roles. Let them ask the questions while you try to catch the bugs.
Catching bugs is what summer is all about! Enjoy the adventures of summer in Summer Days and Nights, then give this fun and themed bug catching game for kids a try! You might just find that they enjoy “catching” bugs, too!
Summer – Say hello to sunshine and sweet summer fun with counting, literacy, crafts and more.
Leave a Reply