Honor Counselor Kristina's Camp Journal: Name Bugs

Honor Counselor Kristina’s Camp Journal: Name Bugs

Camp Sunny Patch honor counselor Kristina puts a cool twist on our Session 4 activity, Cork Bug Creations!:

Hi there! I’m Kristina from ToddlerApproved.com and right now at my house bugs are an obsession for my kids! That’s why we were very excited to try out Allie’s Cork Bug Creations from Camp Sunny Patch’s Session 4 . . . with a twist! You can download the printable instructions here for the original version.

Name Bugs: Cork Bugs: Craft for kids from ToddlerApproved.com for #CampSunnyPatch

My kids love making a mess with paint, so instead of crayons, we grabbed our Melissa &Doug jumbo paintbrushes and some paint and decided to cover our corks with loads of color before we turned them into bugs.

My little guy thought he was pretty funny using the jumbo paintbrushes as antennae.

While the corks dried, we made some faux paste paper using paint, Melissa & Doug multi-colored construction paper, our jumbo paintbrushes, and various tools from around the house. My son decided that we should use the paste paper for our bug creations . . . so we cut it up to use as wings, feet, antennae, etc. and then we also used it to cover some of the cardboard tubes we had in our recycling bin.

He thought it would be fun to have some giant bugs (made from cardboard tubes) along with some mini cork bugs. I thought it was a brillant idea since the cardboard tubes are nice and thick and easier than corks for his little sister to handle. We cut the paste paper to fit the tubes and then taped it onto them.

My son is in love with spelling his name and we like doing name crafts and activities, so we grabbed our Melissa & Doug alphabet stickers and added some letters to the corks before we started turning them into wacky name bugs.

Next we glued the extra pieces onto the bugs (antennae, wings, legs, etc.) and added googly eyes. We’ve been reading Don and Audrey Wood’s book Quick as a Cricket for our Summer Virtual Book Club for Kids, so we even managed to make one of the cardboard rolls into a cricket.

After we were done crafting, I had fun mixing the cork bugs up and then trying to get my son to spell his name correctly by putting the bugs back in order. It was such a simple way to practice spelling his name. He loved knocking down the bugs and then starting all over again.

My 19-month-old had a great time flying her bigger bugs around the house . . . and then in typical toddler fashion, she started destroying them. But boy did she have a great time doing it!

We enjoyed this activity so much that we’re planning to make some more cork bugs with our friends next week!

Kristina is the author of ToddlerApproved.com, where she helps parents capitalize on teachable moments in everyday life and motivates them to discover, create, and learn with their children. She is a mom of a toddler and a preschooler (and has a baby on the way!) and is a former Special Education teacher who is constantly learning how to adapt to and enjoy the developmental milestones her children hit. When she’s not crafting, Kristina runs a Mommy & Me book club, volunteers at her son’s preschool, throws kid’s craft parties, and travels with her family. Kristina tweets as @ToddlerApproved and can be found on Facebook and Pinterest.

July 17, 2012 by melissaanddoug

Filed Under: arts & crafts for kids, By Age, By Age, By Age, By Age, By Age, By Age, By Season, By Skill, Camp Sunny Patch, Educational Activities, Fine Motor Skills, Honor Counselors, Imaginative Skills, More Ways to Learn & Play, More Ways to Play & Learn, Older Kids (5+), Parenting & Family, Play Dates, Play Ideas, Preschoolers (3-4 years), Preschoolers (3-4 years), Preschoolers (3-4 years), Preschoolers (3-4 years), Preschoolers (3-4 years), Pretend Play, Pretend Play, Skill Building, Spring, Summer, Toddler (1-2 years), Toddler (1-2 years), Toddler (1-2 years), Toddler (1-2 years), Toddler (1-2 years), Toys, Tweens (5-12), Tweens (5-12), Tweens (5-12), Tweens (5-12) Tagged With: #CampSunnyPatch, arts & crafts for kids, bugs, building spelling skills, camp sunny patch, cork, fun for kids, honor counselors, learning the alphabet, letters, Melissa & Doug, preschool, sensory, Toddlers

Comments

Kim @ The Educators' Spin On It says:

July 18, 2012 at 10:39 pm

This turned out to be so cute! I think we’ll be making some to practice spelling some sight words over the summer… who wouldn’t want to practice and be buggy at the same time!
The Iowa Farmer's Wife says:

July 23, 2012 at 9:42 pm

So cute!! I love the ones out of the TP roll and can!

Honor Counselor Kristina’s Camp Journal: Name Bugs

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