Mad About Minibeasts!

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Children will start to ask more questions about what a phrase, term or, simply, word means, and they’ll add them to their repertoire for writing. Those who develop a healthy vocabulary early on, tend to become deeper thinkers. Stories will provide the means for vocabulary growth. With a broader range of vocabulary, they’ll become both more fluent readers and writers. Cody the Caterpillar by Twinkl Originals - Cody loves being a caterpillar, but all her friends keep telling her how nice it will be when she finally turns into a butterfly. She’s nervous about the change, so will she be brave enough to do it? This story is great for teaching butterfly lifecycles and how to deal with change.

Reading will ensure that young children develop early literacy skills. Early literacy development starts within the first three years of a child's life. It supports all their other future reading, along with writing, language development, and the ability to process speech sounds. This list contains a lovely selection of minibeast books for early years, both fiction and non-fiction, that can be used to support your teaching on this fun and engaging topic. These brilliant stories include 'The Bugliest Bug' by Carol Diggory Shields, 'The Bad Tempered Ladybird' by Eric Carle, 'Snail Trail' by Ruth Brown, and lots more, to help you plan some fun and exciting lessons for the little ones. There are tons of different types of minibeast that can be found all over the world, but here are a few common minibeasts for kids to spot in gardens and parks! Having stories like these minibeast books for early years is important, since children need to read before being able to engage in the written word that’s everywhere around them.

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Some minibeasts, like these leaf insects, are great at disguising themselves as a dead leaf or a damaged leaf or a green leaf! Perfect for keeping themselves safe."

It is rare to find a book which gives a completely different and exciting perspective on a historical figure, particularly those aimed at younger readers, so ‘Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular’ is a particularly delightful read. From this, they’ll be able to start building a basis around their young worlds and introduce new topics that they’d not heard of before. As they grow more and more confident with reading, they’ll be able to recognise aspects that have been read to them before, which will help them to make more sense of what they’re reading. The earlier children start to read themselves, the wider their general knowledge usually becomes. All of these KS1 minibeasts for kids teaching resources are created by teachers for teachers and parents to use, so you can ensure that the quality of content you are getting is accurate and follows that all-important UK KS1 National Curriculum. Examples of minibeasts in the UK

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Storytelling is a great way to engage young children in a relaxing and calming activity. You can use these great suggestions of minibeast books for early years children to help you plan your provisions and target skills in all seven skill development areas. Why not try some themed extension activities? You could use our Incy Wincy Spider Collection to support teaching on Keith Chapman's version of the favoured nursery rhyme. Our Cautious Caterpillar eBook is a lovely story to read in your EYFS setting with an autumnal theme. This beautifully illustrated story is also available as a PowerPoint. There are some minibeasts that have particularly peculiar food habits. For instance, many types of beetles and ants eat wood, yes that’s right, wood! There are also worms that eat all of the dead materials and substances in the soil, and dung beetles, whose diet consists of actual animal poo. Whilst this might seem gross to us, these minibeasts are performing a very important function for their ecosystem. By consuming these strange things they are recycling and, in turn, improving the overall quality of the soil, which allows plants and trees to grow from it. The Stag Beetle — This minibeast can grow up to 8.5 cm in length. Whilst this may seem small to us, it is massive for a beetle. Children can start to use this as an opportunity to express themselves, either verbally or in writing.

So, now we know what minibeasts eat, what eats minibeasts? Well, as discussed before, some creatures, like spiders, will feed on other minibeasts. In addition to this, there are a wide range of animals who eat minibeasts as part of their standard diet. These animals include: There are some exceptions to this, including the insect known as the greater water boatman and pond skaters. These minibeasts are super swimmers. Try these fantastic minibeasts for kids resources today! Lots of young children seem to simply love bugs! And learning about them can be just as productive. They make a great part of children’s Understanding the World topics. Children can learn to appreciate nature a little bit more when they learn how bugs influence the environment around them and survive in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.

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BBC Teach has a collection of short videos for KS1 that explain the characteristics of minibeasts and insects and how minibeasts use camouflage. You could also add the Don't Hog the Hedge! eBook to your collection and encourage more discussion around the creatures and minibeasts who live in specific environments. To teach the fantastic topic of minibeasts at KS1, you can use our incredible range of minibeasts for kids UK teaching resources. Featuring minibeasts for KS1 life cycle activities, role-plays and interactive games for kids.

Despite the fact that they cannot swim, many species of minibeasts live in ponds and rivers. The majority of these creatures spend their lives clinging to stones and plants, or just crawling around the bottom of the water.

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A great story is one that can teach us not just about the topic it covers but about ourselves and the world around us. Generally speaking, no, the majority of minibeasts can’t swim. If they fall into a body of water, they are likely to flap around until they get out, but this is purely a survival instinct. Worms are a special case because they can technically survive underwater for several weeks at a time, as they can absorb oxygen through their skin. However, they still can’t swim. Minibeasts can be found in almost every area of the UK. They are most commonly found in wooded areas, like parks for example. However, because of urbanisation it's not unusual to find minibeasts right on your doorstep. As long as they have the necessary means to live like food and a suitable habitat - minibeasts can pretty much thrive anywhere in the UK! Enough talk - try Twinkl's teacher-made minibeasts for kids resources today and see how much excitement they can add to your classroom! Take a look at the resources below to get started: BBC Bitesize features a range of videos, text resources and a quiz to help children in KS1 learn more about minibeasts.