Grouchy Ladybugs!

Here is a link to the post where I got the idea for this.  You have to scroll a little more than half way down the page of insect activities.

What You Need:

• Scissors
• Red construction paper
• Black pipe cleaners
• Photo of your child
• Glue or masking tape
• Blank top handwriting paper
• Black marker
• Copy of The Grouchy Ladybug
• Red pony beads (optional)

What To Do:

1. Read Eric Carle's book The Grouchy Ladybug.  Or, watch this video of someone else reading it if you don't have a copy available.
2. Cut out your child's face from the photography.  
3. Cut a semi circle from the red construction paper so that the head looks appropriately sized.  (see example pictures)
4. Glue the head to the red body.  
5. Cut the pipe cleaners into feet and antenna.  
6. Glue or tape the legs to the back of the body.  You can bend the ends to make feet.  
7. Draw black spots on the body.  
8. Glue the antenna on to the head.  You can roll the end of the antenna or slide a red pony bead on and bend the end.  
9. Ask your child what makes him or her grouchy.  Transcribe their response onto the blank top handwriting paper.  You could also let your child write their answer and then write it out beneath what they wrote.  Try to get it as close to what your child actually said as possible.  
10. Glue the ladybug to the blank top of the paper.  

Extensions:

• Count the dots.  
• Read more Eric Carle.
• After reading more Eric Carle, you could repeat the process with different bugs.  Ask your child about feeling hungry or lonely and trasncrib what they say.  To make it less difficult, just have you child draw on the top half of the sheet.  
• Make more insect crafts.
• Read some non-fiction on ladybugs.  
• Go out in the yard and look for some ladybugs.  Or, visit a bug exhibit at a museum.  
•