DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Insect Themed Games

Learn about odd and even numbers

The Colors Shell Game (very young children -- 12 months to 4 years):

Make three egg carton bugs in different colors:
- primary colors -- red, blue and yellow
- secondary colors -- orange, purple and green (made by mixing two primary colors)
  
  or you can make this a themed game by using colors for the season
- red white and blue for Fourth of July;
- orange black and green for Halloween;
- red, pink and purple for Valentine's day, etc)
Hide a dry cheerio (or other small, healthy snack item) under one of the bugs while the child is watching
An adult should spin the bugs around slowly with the cheerio hiding the whole time -- you can sing a song... We always say this silly rhyme:
Cheerio, Cheerio, where are you?
Cheerio, Cheerio, red, yellow or blue?
Cheerio, Cheerio, where are you?
Cheerio, Cheerio... PEEK A BOO!
At the end of the rhyme, have the child point to the bug the cheerio is hiding under -- encourage them to say the name of the color.
If the child struggles remembering which bug is hiding the cheerio, reduce the number to two. If they are doing really well, add more colors.
The child gets the snack when they find it!

The Colors Memory Game (any age children -- 3 years to adult):

Use egg carton bugs or bugs from rocks or pom poms. Make bugs in different colors (for young children primary colors: red, blue and yellow are good choices). For older children, you'll want 20 or more colors... You can also have some with spots and some without. You can also include other things on the tray like plastic toys, stones, candles, etc.
Have a tray (I always use a cookie sheet) and a box full of items (bugs, rocks, leaves, etc).
The person running the game places 3 random items on the tray and counts to 10
The person running the game then goes in another room (or everyone closes their eyes).
The person running the game, removes 1 of the items from the tray, puts it back in the box and returns to the room.
Then the people playing write on a paper which one is missing. Older players can help younger players write their answers down.
Everyone who gets the answer correct stays in the game.
Now, play the round again only this time with 4 items... Then 5... Then 6... etc. Each time removing 1 random item from the tray during the eyes closed (or leave the room) phase.
The game is quite easy when there are only 3 items on the tray but it gets challenging quickly!

The Ladybug Counting Game:

This game teaches simple addition skills without the kids even realizing they're learning.
Make two ladybugs with 1 spot, two ladybugs with 2 spots, two ladybugs with 3 spots, two ladybugs with 4 spots and two ladybugs with 5 spots.
Give the child one of the ladybugs and ask how many spots it has.
When the child has mastered how many spots the individual ladybugs have, have them choose two ladybugs and 'add' the spots (how many spots do the ladybugs have together).