Planning a bug unit in your homeschool and want to create a bug themed morning basket for your kiddos? Looking for some ideas on what to include in your basket?
We have a whole bug theme planned for the month of May, and in this post, we’re going to share what kind of bug books and activities we have in our morning basket.
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A Bug Themed Homeschool Morning Basket
Get a closer look into all the books and activities we have planned for our bug themed morning basket by watching the video below.
Continue reading for the text version.
For our Charlotte Mason-inspired early years morning time, here’s what I typically have planned out:
- Prayer
- Calendar
- Movement
- Bible
- Hymn
- Virtue/Character Development
- Poems
- Nature Study
- Themed Books
- Hands-on activities for the kids (coloring, stickers, play dough, etc.)
We don’t necessarily get to all of these things each morning time, and some months, some areas are combined into one.
Here’s a look into what we have in our morning basket for the month of May, which has a whole bug theme to it.
After our family prayer and calendar time, we usually move on to movement. This month we’re using the book Yoga Bug.
Each page has a different bug that you and your children can pretend to be, while performing basic yoga poses. We have 3 of the books out of this Simple Poses for Little Ones series, and they’re all just too much fun.
We’re combing Bible and character development this month by using The Big Book of Animal Devotions.
This book is amazing for Christian animal lovers. For each devotion, there’s a story that covers interesting animal facts, while covering a character development lesson from the Bible.
There’s also a scripture verse, discussion questions, and a short take away message for each one.
We’re going through and picking out all of the bug-themed devotions.
Our hymn this month is “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” This one is all about nature and how God created this amazing beauty that surrounds us.
I print off PDF versions of our hymns for free over at hymnary.org. I also always find a complimentary YouTube video to listen to the hymn.
We also picked out some bug-themed poems to read from two of our most beloved poem books:
Continue reading below.
Related
And since our theme is “bugs” this month, our themed books are also counting as our nature study.
We have a lot of themed books picked out, but we usually only read one or two each morning time.
Some of the Usborne books we have planned for this unit include:
- Bugs (Usborne Young Beginners) – A super simple read, great for early readers.
- Fingerprint Activities: Bugs – Make different bugs with your fingerprints. A little messy, but a lot of fun. Put spots on ladybugs, wings on butterflies, eyes on spiders, and create tons of little bugs on the forest floor.
- 1001 Bugs to Spot Sticker Book – Another hands-on book that helps kids identify different bugs, as well as work on counting and visual discrimination. Stickers are always a hit with my kids.
Here are some more bug themed books that we picked out for our morning basket this month:
A Butterfly Is Patient – This author and illustrator duo are just phenomenal. This book is loaded with information about different species of butterflies and the butterfly life cycle. The font is gorgeous, the illustrations are stunning, and a wide range of ages will be entertained.
Ladybugs – Gail Gibbons is one of our go-to’s for homeschool living books. As always, there’s tons of scientific information and nice illustrations. This one will be perfect to read as we’re observing the ladybug life cycle.
Insect Detective – Another beautiful book, filled with information about insects. This one is very charming and will inspire little ones to explore their natural world and search for these tiny creatures that live all around us.
My Giant Fold-Out Bugs and Spiders – We picked this one up at a Barnes & Noble a few years back, and even though the text is simplified, the kids love it, and I really enjoy the realistic pictures.
Are You a Ladybug? – This book is perfect for youngsters that are interested in ladybugs. If you were a ladybug, here’s what your life would be like. Very informative and entertaining.
My, Oh My – A Butterfly! – I know Dr. Seuss books can be a hit or a miss when you’re looking for twaddle-free for your homeschool. However, we’ve been very happy with this one so far. My preschooler absolutely loves this book. It teaches tons of information about butterflies in your classic Dr. Seuss rhyming.
The Ants Go Marching – A timeless nursery rhyme in a book! This one is great for moms like me, who don’t always have the natural inclination to sing to their children. Singing does wonders for little kids, and bonus, this book visually demonstrates multiplication for the older kiddos.
Are You a Dragonfly? – Another great book from the “Are You a…” series. But this one is all about dragonflies. I thought this would be a great book to transition over into our next unit, which is about ponds.
The Backyard Bug Book for Kids – The first half of this book is a fun little story that sneaks in facts about bugs and insects. The second half is filled with educational activities, like tracing, pattern work, matching, identifying insects, etc. A great one for kids that enjoy worksheets.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (not pictured) – And the kids already managed to take this one out of our basket without me noticing. Definitely one of our top faves. A classic book I’m sure most of you are familiar with, that covers counting, days of the week, different types of food, and of course, the butterfly life cycle.
Bugs Theme Morning Basket
There you have it, our bug themed morning basket for the month of May.
I hope this post gave you lots of bug-spiration for your next morning basket!
What About You?
What are some of your favorite bug books? Share your morning basket recommendations in the comments below and be sure to share this post with other homeschool moms and dads.