Overview: Here is a fun and hands-on way to solidify the teaching of an ant's body. Children will use their own fingers to create the three segments that make up an ant. This ant craft makes for a great place to display any poetry or learning statements that children have written or dictated about ants.

Recommended Grade Level: Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First

Materials:

  • brown construction paper or a large brown paper bag with lines drawn in the shape of an anthill for students to cut out
  • finger paint in black, brown, or red (or any color!)
  • paper plates
  • markers in black, brown or red

How to Implement:

Students cut out anthill. Demonstrate how students are to dip the first segment of their index finger into the paint. They will then use that finger to make a fingerprint on the anthill. Three fingerprints in a row should be added to form one ant. The child will continue to print ants until he/she is done. Once dry, the student will use a marker in a color opposite that of the paint to form the legs and antennae of each ant.

Possible Modifications/Accommodations:

  • For younger students or those that lack the ability to cut out an anthill, provide one already cut out.
  • For those that will have difficulty forming the ant by placing three fingerprints in a row, place small circles for each ant on the anthill for students to use as a guide.
  • For those that have difficulty adding ant details (legs and antennae), those can be added by the teacher, by another student willing to help others, or already added with the circle guides suggested above.