I’m so excited to have Heather from Brie Brie Blooms sharing this super adorable stick bug kids craft today! And, even more excited to announce that she is going to be a regular contributor here on Mom Endeavors! We’ll have a more official announcement later, but for today, enjoy this super cute craft!!
My four year old daughter is obsessed with bugs. Not the pretty butterflies and ladybugs that most little girls enjoy chasing in the garden. She loves every opportunity to get up close and personal with creepy crawlies. Her infatuation with bugs and insects has brought great learning opportunities. She knows there are boundaries and doesn’t pick anything up with out asking an adult first. We have had a lot of fun welcoming Spring this year by spending time outside studying bugs and insects. This week we learned all about stick bugs and made a fun craft to go along with our lesson. We read a few fun facts about stick bugs before we worked on our project.
This kids craft is simple and requires just a few supplies that you might already have at home.
Project supplies:
- pipe cleaners (light brown, dark brown, and beige)
- popsicle stick
- thread
We made our stick bug textured but it’s not a necessary step. To add the bumpy texture to the stick bug you will need a couple more supplies.
Supplies needed for texture:
- 1 cup Borax (found near laundry detergent in most stores)
- plastic container (we used an empty peanut butter tub)
Begin by making the stick bug’s body with the pipecleaners. Fold the light brown piece in half and then twist until you reach the end leaving about an inch untwisted to look like antennas. Then cut the dark brown pipecleaner into three pieces and twist around the body for legs. Use a small piece of the beige pipecleaner to make a bow shape then twist it around the body to add a face.
You have a stick bug! If you would like to add texture to the body, stir your Borax into hot water in the plastic container. Then use a piece of string to attach the stick bug to the popsicle stick. Gently drop the stick bug into the Borax solution but be sure to leave the head out of the liquid.
We let our stick bug sit in the Borax solution overnight. Crystals formed and made our creature look real!
Cut the string and remove the popsicle stick. The crystals are solid but the stick bug’s body and legs are still bendable.
My daughter had so much fun playing with her bug outside. She left it in our tree to meet friends.
Luckily she hasn’t asked for a real pet stick bug yet! 😉
What kinds of bugs are your kids into?
Heather is a preschool teacher and mommy to one sassy little girl. She shares family activities, classroom ideas, snacks, and kids crafts at her blog, Brie Brie Blooms.
5 Responses
So exciting that I’ll be sharing here regularly! Thanks for letting me visit!