Parents will need to prepare the leaf and the ladybugs prior to the activity.
Your child can help by drawing, coloring and/or cutting out a giant leaf and then several (recommend making 15-20) red circles; these will be your ladybugs.
Introduce the counting activity by asking your child if they have ever seen any ladybugs.
Today, we are going to count some ladybugs.
Start with focusing on one to one correspondence. Ask them to count how many ladybugs we have all together. Each ladybug they count they should touch/hold and put on the leaf as they count.
Provide support as needed.
After you have done this step, you can then give your child random numbers and encourage them to put that many ladybugs on the leaf.
Encourage them to count these out on their own but provide support as needed.
Extension:
Make a ladybug craft. This can be done several ways. You can either use a paper plate or one portion of an egg carton. If paint is available, paint these items red or you can color them.
Put black dots, eyes, and antennae on your bug. This can be done with paint or paper scraps.