This teeny beetle flutters into the hearts of children from its first landing on a little index finger (or daisy, or dog). They fall in love with its lore–a sign of good luck?–as much as its shiny round little body.

This unit capitalizes on childhood delight with ladybugs to present key science and math concepts to young children, including basic information relating to animal form and ecology. In a series of observational and role-play activities, children learn about ladybug body structure, life cycle, defensive behavior, and favorite foods. They absorb the mathematical concepts of counting, symmetry, and pattern as they indulge their curiosity about this charming insect. Two full-color pages can be detached as posters, and the book is full of reproducible graphics. In the last activity, Ladybugs Rescue the Orange Trees, children learn important lessons about the environmental role of ladybugs and the interdependence found in nature. The careful use of live ladybugs is recommended, but optional.

From lhsgems.org on September 29, 2009.