This book is full of ant facts. It would be a good introduction for children who show interest in ant communities.

Materials

• Ant picture
• Dice

Vocabulary

• Harvester ants (the little black ants that collect seeds for food)
• Larvae (little worm looking babies that will turn into ants as they grow)
• Tunnels (underground passageways)
• Colonies (the home where ants live, underground)

Before Reading the Story

Show the children the cover of the book. Ask the children if they know what the boys are looking at? Ask the children if they have ever seen any ants and where? What were the ants doing when you saw them? Tell the children that the story today is about ants and how they live. Give the children a chance to share any information they might have about ants.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.  

Reading the Story

This book has detailed pictures, it should be read in smaller groups where you can really point out the ants and what is happening.  

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they have any questions about ants? If it is something that was in the book, go back and review that page. If it was not in the book, tell the child/ren that you will help them find the answer, and do. Remind the children that ants can bite and sting. Be careful that you do not step on their colony.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic, and pedestrian safety, and responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Discovery

Make an ant farm and bring in ants to observe. There are directions in the back of the book. Make sure to only make it temporary and put the ants back when you are done.

Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Set out three small plates in a place where you have seen ants. On one put sugar, on the second put a piece of fruit, on the third put bread. Occasionally check to see if the ants have found the plates. When they have, invite the children to observe the ants. Which food do they seem to like best? Can you see their path, where are they taking the food?

Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Music and Movement

Have the children line up on their hands and knees and crawl like ants in a line. They can crawl into their hole (under the table), over a stick (a chair), around a rock (another chair).

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Sing the Ants Go Marching One by One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjw2A3QU8Qg

Teach the children La hormiguita, a traditional Mexican fingerplay

La hormigita                                           The Little Ant

Andaba la hormiguita            A little ant was walking               ( Fingers climb up arm)

Juntando su comidita             Gathering her food                       (Cup hands together)

Le coge un aguacerito            When along came a rainstorm        (Use fingers to show rain)

Que corre para su casita       So she ran towards home             ( Run fingers down arm)

Y se metio’ en su covachita     And dove straight into her anthill                                                             (Place fingers under your  lap)

English translation by r. trevino

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Blocks

Cut out ants from ant page and put in the center. Ask the children if they can make tunnels for the ants to go inside of.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.  AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop follow through plans.

Art

Let the children help make ant antenna’s by twisting together two pipe cleaners. These can then be stapled to a sentence strip and used in dramatic play.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Let the children cut out food pictures and glue them to a paper plate. When they are dry, hang several on the wall with a sign that says No Ants Allowed!

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Sand and Water

Put out damp sand and let the children experiment making tunnels.  

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Library and Writing

Review with the children that ants live in groups called colonies. In the colony everybody has a certain job. Explain to them that in your child care center everybody has a job also. On a piece of paper write the names of the people in your center whom the children know. Ask the children to explain what this person’s job is and write their definitions beside. When you have made a list, you can have the children make thank you cards for each person and deliver them.

Ms. Ada-she cooks our food

Ms. Edna-she drives the bus

Ms. Ivette-she sits with me until my Mommy comes if I am sick

Ms. Annette-she helps me get off the bus

Ms Janey-she types letters for my parents

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops a growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.  AND Literacy/Early Writing; develops an understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Dramatic Play

Make ant hats by attaching pipe cleaners to a sentence strip. Encourage the children to play ant colony and everybody work together to prepare a meal.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

 Math and Manipulatives

Copy the ant picture page and cut out the ants. Make sure you make, black, brown, and red as these are the colors of real ants. Also make several other colors. On index cards write the color names using magic markers that correspond. Ask the children to sort the ants and put them on the correct color name. Ask them which colors they think real ants are. What other color ants are there? Have them choose their favorite color ant and copy the color name onto an index card and then cut around an ant and color it.   As a group look at the cards and decide which color is the most popular.

 Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.  AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Ask the children why they think ants like to join people on picnics? Bring out a picnic basket, blanket, dishes, and let them use plastic food or sand to make food for a picnic. Children can pretend to be ants and crawl up and sneak off the food crumbs.

 Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions, to take turns in games or using materials, and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.  AND Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Transitions

Tell the children that you are going to pretend that the dots on the dice are ants.  Let the children take turns rolling the dice and counting the number of ants that they see.

Mathematics/Numbers & Operation;demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

Dear Parent-today we read a book about ants.  Though ants are interesting to watch, please remind your child that ants bite and to keep a distance between themselves and an ant colony.

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