The boys are very interested in life and death, with how things work and how things come to be. The imminent arrival of their baby brother has probably heightened their interest too, so I thought we could take a look at life cycles.

I thought it best to start with something small. We opted for one of the smallest creatures we know – ants!

Luckily for me the life cycle of an ant is fairly simple, enabling me to teach them the basics in a straightforward manner and without too many awkward questions.

In the past we have looked at the habitat and behaviour of ants when we reviewed Ant World for Interplay, so we already knew a little bit about them. First I used a simple printable ant life cycle jigsaw to introduce the relevant terms and the order of things. Then I took the boys out to find some real ants – that was their favourite part! It’s a shame we couldn’t see a nest and take a look inside but we wouldn’t want to disturb them anyway.

We did have trouble photographing the ants as they move so very quickly! I’m sure you already know what they look like anyway.

There are four main elements of an ant’s life cycle:

  • Cocoon
  • Larva
  • Egg
  • Ant

There’s a great power point presentation on the twinkl website which I used with the boys too, with clear wording and images.

ant life cycle

Win

To help another child to learn about the life cycle, habitat and behaviour of ants I am giving away an Ant World kit to one lucky winner. I just need you to answer a simple question in the widget below.

Good luck!

Ant World by Interplay

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