The Ladybug Who Lost Her Spots
Children are ladybugs flying around the garden, searching the whole room for the spots the wind blew off their friend Rita so they can give them back. It builds spatial exploration and helping each other.
How to play
- The teacher shows Rita, a big ladybug drawn on butcher paper on the wall, with no spots: the wind blew them away. The ladybugs open and close their short wings (bent arms) to fly (2 min).
- With music on, the ladybugs fly around the garden, and when it stops, they land on a pretend flower by crouching still (2 min).
- We look for the spots (large paper circles) hidden around the room: under chairs, on top of benches, by the door; each ladybug who finds one flies over to stick it on Rita (4 min).
- The teacher says how the ladybugs fly now to find the last spots: low on hands and knees, on tiptoes, backward, very slowly (3 min).
- We count Rita's spots together, and the ladybugs land on a leaf to rest with their wings closed (2 min).
Rules
- Each ladybug carries one spot at a time.
- If a friend finds the spot first, we look for another one.
- We fly without bumping into other ladybugs.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, the spots are in plain view, and the teacher helps stick them on.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, the spots are half-hidden, and each ladybug says where they found it: "under the table."
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the spots are numbered and go on in order, and each ladybug flies a different way than the time before.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: hide some spots at wheelchair height and let the child be the one who sticks them on Rita, with help.
- Visual impairment: make textured spots (felt) and place Rita near a sound source.
- Autism: show the spots and where Rita is beforehand, and give the child a specific area of the room to search.
Learning goals
- Explore the space while searching for objects.
- Understand and use words like under, on top of and next to.
- Work together toward a shared goal.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Black construction paper circles: 20
- Butcher paper: 1
- Tape: 1
- Music
Teacher tip
Hide the spots before the kids come in, and put tape on the back so they can stick them on by themselves. The common mistake is one child collecting several spots: one spot at a time, then fly to Rita.
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