Perler Bead Ladybug Craft

This perler bead ladybug is a fun and adorable project that will help kids develop fine motor skills, patience and artistic design!

Isn’t this perler bead ladybug the cutest thing ever?!

When it comes to incorporating fun craft projects at home with the kids, STEM activities are the best way for kids to learn a variety of skills.

Not only can kids get creative in art and design, they can boost their fine motor skills and engineering skills to make a perler bead ladybug.

What are STEM (or STEAM) activities?

The biggest difference between STEM and STEAM is that STEM focuses on scientific opportunities. STEAM looks at the same concept — but also incorporates a creative process to help kids learn through inquiry.

These type of activities help children learn and build on a foundation that encourages creative and critical thinking skills.

STEM activities for younger kids can focus on simpler things: design patterns, counting and basic problem solving. This perler bead ladybug is an adorable spring project that can help kids cover several learning topics.

Science: What is a ladybug? What do they eat and where is their native habitat? How can they survive in adapt in a multitude of climates?

Tech: Where do perler beads come from? How are they made and sorted?

Engineering: Before they get started, kids will need to look and study the ladybug design. They’ll want make plans before they execute the design with the first bead color. Reading diagrams and following directions is essential!

Art: Create your own ladybug using perler beads.

Math: Count the beads as you are designing your ladybug. Chart the number of beads you used for each color.

I love incorporating STEM/STEAM activities at home with the kids because it provides us the opportunity to add an educational element to our lessons.

Learn about Ladybugs

This perler bead ladybug is wonderful to incorporate during the gardening season. More so as the spring warms up into summer. If you grow a garden, consider attracting native ladybugs versus buying ladybugs to control your aphids.

Ladybugs are wonderful to alleviate an aphid problem in your garden. However, there must be a significant aphids population in the garden before you think about incorporating them. Should you buy ladybugs to release in your garden, give your garden a good drench with water in the evening (they need lots of moisture) and release the ladybugs that night.

Avoid releasing ladybugs at night — they don’t fly in the dark, so you have a better chance of them sticking around if you release them then.

Kids will love making this perler bead ladybug and it gives you a great opportunity to teach them about gardening basics with ladybugs. Such a fabulous experience — and one that can be paired with a gardening project that lasts through the summer!

These are the things you will need to make this perler bead ladybug.

(Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links for items at no additional charge to you.)

First, gather your beads and count out each color required:

32 black
95 red

After the colors have been counted, your kids will need to determine the placement for the beads on the circle bead tray. Your little ones might take a bit longer to achieve this than the older kids.

Once you have completed the perler bead ladybug, lay your wax paper atop and gently press with a warm iron for 30-35 seconds. Avoid over-pressing because the beads will indeed melt.

Allow the wax paper to cool. Then flip the beads and gently iron the other side (20-30 seconds). Feel free to use a hook to hang the ladybug on a window or even add a keychain.