Toddlers and preschoolers can use buttons and corks to make this cute and easy paper plate ladybug craft. It’s a simple spring activity that lets children explore painting, gluing and stamping.
We love paper plate crafts! You can create so many things from a plain paper plate, and one of the sweetest recent projects is these paper plate ladybugs. This craft is our Letter L project in the A–Z paper plate crafts series and makes a lovely nature-themed activity for toddlers and preschoolers.
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home…
With spring temperatures on the rise, ladybugs are appearing everywhere around our house. The kids enjoy hunting for them and watching them flutter off. Their excitement and curiosity made this the perfect week for a ladybug craft.
Let’s talk ladybugs
We began by looking at photos of real ladybugs to notice their colors, markings, and the number of legs and spots they have. Each child was given a red and black pen to practise drawing ladybugs while looking at a reference image on the computer.
After that short introduction, we moved on to the crafting portion.
Supplies
- center cut from a paper plate (or a full paper plate if you prefer)
- red and black paint
- glue
- corks for stamping
- buttons for spots
- googly eyes
- pipe cleaners
- hole punch
How we made our ladybugs
While I prepared materials, the children sorted through our button collection looking for black buttons — a great sensory and fine motor activity on its own.
I poured several shades of red paint into a tray and we talked about how each shade looked different and what the shades might be called. The children enjoyed painting the plate centers and blending the reds together. You can use any paper for the ladybug body; saved plate centers are perfect and lighter for small hands to handle.
We added a dash of black paint on one side of the circle for the ladybug’s head, then glued on googly eyes. For the spots, one child stamped corks dipped in black paint while another used buttons to dot the ladybug’s back.
Once the paint and glue were dry, I punched three holes along each side of the plate and the kids threaded pipe cleaners through to create legs. Twisting the ends holds the pipe cleaners in place.
They turned out so sweet — a simple, hands-on craft that combines creativity, fine motor practice, and a bit of nature study.
More bug crafts for toddlers
- Paper towel butterflies
- Tissue paper and clothespin butterflies
- Painting spiders and cobwebs
- Easy bug headbands
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