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You are here: Home / Spring Activities / Easy and Fun Bug Painting for Toddlers

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Easy and Fun Bug Painting for Toddlers

April 27, 2024 by Sheryl Cooper

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Last Updated on March 31, 2025 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Add some bug painting to your toddlers’ day with this fun process art activity! 

If you are looking for a fun art activity for your bug theme, this idea is super easy and toddlers love it.

Little prep is involved because it’s all about the process.

Simply put the few materials on the table and invite your toddlers to start painting.

Even our busiest little friends stopped awhile for this engaging art!

bug painting for toddlers

Easy and Fun Bug Painting for Toddlers

If you’ve been following Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds for awhile, you know how much I love process art.

preschool process art

This type of art focuses on the action involved, not the end result.

There is little teacher prep work, the set up is usually pretty easy, and little (if any) instruction is needed.

Also, no two are alike.

What you will need:

  • Plastic (toy) bugs
  • Paint
  • Shallow containers
  • Paper
bug painting for toddlers

While you can use any size bugs, I found that our toddlers preferred the larger size.

They are also fun to paint, as I will share shortly.

You might need to first demonstrate how to dip the bugs into the paint, “walking” them across the paper.

CLICK HERE to see our classroom set up for the bug theme!

bug painting for toddlers

I like to provide more than one color so the children can explore color mixing.

All they need to do is dip their bug into the paint and then move it with their fingers across the paper.

When multiple colors are used, new colors emerge as they blend!

bug painting for toddlers

When finished, let the bug tracks dry.

bug painting for toddlers

Bug Painting

If you have toddlers who really love to paint, as I do this year, you can take this activity one step further and let them actually paint the bug.

Simply hand the children a paint brush and away they go!

bug painting for toddlers

I love three dimensional art because it allows children to explore length, width, and depth.

They are thinking about every side of the bug, even getting the brush in small crevices.

bug painting for toddlers

Some toddlers might problem solve reaching all the areas by actually picking up the bug, using both hands to get it painted.

More fine motor taking place!

bug painting for toddlers

While painting the bugs, ask the children if they can identify them.

Who has the ladybug? Who has the spider?

bug painting for toddlers

Clean up is easy because all the painted bugs can be tossed into a tub of warm sudsy water.

In fact, you can take this activity one step further, handing your toddlers scrub brushes and letting them clean the bugs.

This can be done in the sink, in a sensory bin filled with water, or outdoors with buckets of water!

preschool weather printables
Bugs and Insects Pacet
tpt garden nursery dramatic play
bug painting for toddlers

More toddler painting ideas:

Dinosaur Tracks

Fish Painting (Free Printable Template)

Paper Plate Rainbow Suncatchers

Bugs and Butterfly Activity Plans

I’m so excited to be one of the authors of these hands-on activity plans for toddlers and for preschoolers!

Easy to follow plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.

Note: This is a digital product. Links to downloads will be sent to you after purchase!

For more information, click on the graphics below:

Toddler Lesson Plans Bugs and Butterflies
preschool lesson plans bugs and butterflies

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Filed Under: Art, Spring Activities, Toddlers Tagged With: art, toddlers

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 25 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

Previous Post: « Spring Sensory Bins for Toddlers and Preschoolers
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ariel Hudnall

    May 15, 2012 at 5:39 am

    This is a super cute project! I wish I could try it with my own kids (tupperware tubs are hard to come by in Japan.) Maybe I’ll try it anyway ^__^

    http://eflforkids.blogspot.jp/

    • Sheryl @ Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds

      May 16, 2012 at 12:38 am

      You can use boxes or box lids. Anything with an edge to contain the spray a bit. Or, try it right on the sidewalk!

    • mariya disouza

      March 9, 2013 at 12:35 pm

      La baie d’açai a également un certain nombre d’antioxydants qui sont excellents pour le corps, car ils aident à restaurer d’autres antioxydants déjà dans le corps comme la vitamine C, la vitamine E et le glutathion. Les flavonoïdes dans la baie aussi aider à protéger le corps contre la maladie.

      baie açaï

  2. TwosTimesTwelve

    May 15, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    I love this idea for outside this summer. The papers are cute but outside it would be fun to let them spray anything they want! I have a feeling we will have some beautiful colored rocks and trees outside this spring and summer.

    • Sheryl @ Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds

      May 16, 2012 at 12:39 am

      Oh yes, this would work great sprayed right onto the pavement! And it washes off easily. A great summer activity for sure!

  3. pauline@lessonslearntjournal.com

    May 16, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    Hi there fellow Kids Co-op co-host 🙂 I love this post! I’m Pauline and I blog over at http://lessonslearntjournal.com. May I please feature this (with a picture from your post) as part of my roundup of this week’s linky party? If this hasn’t already been pinned onto our Weekly Kids’ Co-op interest board, I’d love to do that for you too. Hope to hear from you soon.

  4. tuffcitysupply

    March 9, 2013 at 4:37 am

    Thanks for sharing….Nice one amazing

    Tattoo Grips

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