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Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Bugs: a preschool theme week

Checked Oct 30, 2026 · Spring · April, May, June

One week on bugs for twos to fours: a five-line circle time, 4 books (3 free to read on Peabody), one craft with 4 materials, “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with its words, a snack from the Kitchen and the letter B.

Plan this weekPrint the two sheets

Circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “How many legs does an ant have?”
  4. Sing: Itsy Bitsy Spider.
  5. Read: Ants Are Strong (level 3).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Books

  • Ants Are Strong (level 3, free on peabody.kids): True facts about ants, for the fours.
  • I See a Boy (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A boy, the animals and the bees.
  • Go, Snail, Go! (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A slow snail, for the bug hunt.
  • Who Lives Under the Log? (read aloud, level 5): A read-aloud: true facts about what lives under a log.

Craft: Egg-carton caterpillar

You need (4): a strip of egg carton (grown-up cuts), paint, pipe cleaners, sticker eyes.

  1. Paint the carton strip.
  2. Push in two pipe-cleaner feelers (a grown-up helps).
  3. Add the eyes and count the body parts.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

The words

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Snack

Ants on a Log from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Peanut butter → sunflower seed butter.

Letter pack

BbB is for bug. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace B and b once, then find B in the room and in the book.

Outside: Bug hunt

Look under a log or a stone with a grown-up. Look, count and put it back. Never take a bug home.

All themesApril themesMay themesJune themesThe theme plannerPreschool and daycare

The books are Peabody's own open library, free with no sign-in. The song is public domain. The snack links to the Peabody Kitchen. Nothing here asks for a child's name.