Finding activities that both my two-year-old and her six-year-old brother enjoy isn’t always easy. More and more he wants to do something she doesn’t have the patience or skill for yet. One thing they both love are hunts. Simple materials, fun game and a ton of learning. This bug hunt has color matching, counting and sorting as well as a ton of fun. This activity was a great way for both of them to play and learn together. As you will see they worked at their own level while working together. Although we used bugs you could use any small items like plastic Easter eggs, simple blocks or even cut out shapes.
- Gather your materials. You will need many multi-colored small objects to hide, construction paper in the same colors (we chose a rainbow theme but you could do any colors) and some kids eager to find things.
- Spread your colors out on a flat surface like the floor or table.
- Hide your bugs. Can you see any in this picture?
- Explain the rules of the game. Find the bug and sort it in the correct color. For my son I added the following challenges: After he found a bug and put it in the right color I asked him to see which color had the most bugs and which had the least. This made him pause so his sister had a slight chance at finding some of the bugs and gave him a little math lesson too.
- Start finding those bugs!
They were so quick it was hard for me to catch any pictures.
- My daughter loved sorting them. Every now and then, I would sneak one into the wrong color and she’d fix it.
- When we found them all I asked them to count. My daughter counted all the bugs in each color
and my son counted all the bugs in every color. He also told me which color had the most, which had the least.
- After that, he went off to play Lego but my daughter and I played two more times.
Books About Bugs
We try to always match up activities with books to reinforce active play with quality reading time. Here are 19 great bug books for you and your little bug hunters to check out.
For other indoor activities like this bug hunt, make sure to follow me on Facebook!
If you teach preschool or preschool at home, you will love my Little School eBook of preschool activities.
letters numbers and books oh my says
Fun, Easy and Inexpensive! Perfect for families 🙂
Love your house always looks so bright and cheery and spotless!
Jo Anne says
hello – love it!!! we do a lot with bugs throughout the year – i was wondering where you purchased the particular ones that you used in this sorting/hunting game – i’m enjoying the ideas you have shared….thank you! jo anne
Allison McDonald says
They are bug counters from Lakeshore Learning. I got them many years ago though so I am not sure if these exact ones are still available. I am sure they have rainbow counters of some description though.
Carla says
Great idea- I also have a 2 year old and 6 year old so always looking for ideas for both of them.
Kirstylee says
I love that you added the hunt factor to this activity. Sometimes my kids just need to move around!
Jessica @ Play Trains! says
My son asked me to put this one on the to-do list, so we’re definitely going to try it. Thanks!
Jessica Mitchell-Stoddard says
I absolutely love this! I am a nanny for three girls, ages 3, 4, and 7, so this game can be easily adaptable for all of them! Maybe this can be tied in to an Easter egg hunt….hmmm… 😉 Thank you so much for sharing this!
Stephanie KierysSmkierys says
I bought some colored bunnies from the seasonal section at Wal-mart and did this activity with my 2 y/o DD. She LOVED it!
google.com says
Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you know after that you can write if not it is complex to write.
Kerri Bataille says
Where did you find your colored bugs?
I also like your Idea of lego building activity where you roll the dice and pick a lego piece from the correct number tray to create a lego structure. Where did you find your tray? It looks like a plastic relish tray with 5 items to hold outside the center circle.
Allison McDonald says
The bugs are from Lakeshore learning but they are OLD. The tray is from the dollar store!