Building a Bug Hotel – Outdoor Learning Lesson Plan & Resources

14 pages of practical outdoor learning activities, illustrated worksheets and wildlife resources!

🐞 Build a home for minibeasts and bring outdoor learning to life!

Looking for an exciting, hands-on outdoor learning activity that encourages children to explore nature, work together and develop their understanding of wildlife?

Our Building a Bug Hotel resource provides everything you need to plan and deliver an engaging habitat-building experience, with practical teaching guidance, printable activities and beautiful wildlife illustrations.

Children will investigate natural materials, design suitable habitats, work collaboratively and discover why different minibeasts need different places to live.

Perfect for Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1!

What's included?

🪵 Complete lesson plan – Practical guidance for planning, preparing and creating a bug hotel with children.

🌿 Step-by-step activities – From investigating natural habitats and collecting materials to designing, building and observing a bug hotel.

✏️ Two illustrated children's worksheets – Design Your Bug Hotel and Our Bug Hotel Observations, featuring visual prompts and picture choices to support younger children.

🐞 Four minibeast information cards – Explore fascinating facts about centipedes, green lacewings, stag beetles and woodlice.

📸 Photographs and illustrations – Visual inspiration to support discussions about habitats, materials and wildlife.

💬 Teaching questions and discussion prompts – Encourage children's curiosity, reasoning, vocabulary and scientific thinking.

🛡️ Safety and preparation guidance – Practical considerations for selecting materials, preparing a suitable structure and caring for wildlife.

🌱 Adaptations and extension activities – Suggestions for Nursery, Reception and Years 1–2, including opportunities to revisit the bug hotel and observe changes over time.

What will children learn?

This resource provides opportunities to develop:

• Understanding of habitats, minibeasts and the natural world

• Early scientific enquiry, observation and investigation

• Mathematical skills through sorting, comparing and measuring

• Communication, vocabulary and reasoning

• Cooperation, teamwork and problem-solving

• Confidence, independence and resilience

• Environmental awareness and respect for living things

More than just a one-off activity!

Once your bug hotel has been built, the learning doesn't have to stop!

Children can return to investigate which creatures have visited, observe seasonal changes and develop new questions about the natural world.

The lesson is designed to be flexible and child-led, encouraging practitioners to follow children's interests and discoveries.

Suitable for: Nursery to Year 2 (adaptable)

Suggested session length: 60–90 minutes, plus opportunities to revisit

Format: 14-page digital PDF with printable worksheets and wildlife information cards

Part of the Mr Early Years Outdoor Learning / Forest School collection.

Digital download – no physical materials are included. Construction must be appropriately supervised, with adults preparing and securing the structure and undertaking any necessary tool work.