social and emotional learning family movies, family videos, family films intentional parenting
verbal, social and emotional learning

Intentional Parenting                                                             Family Movies

Talking and Playing for Growth with . . .


A Bug's Life



Social-Emotional Learning --- Friendship; Courage; Teamwork;

Moral-Ethical Emphasis --- Trustworthiness; Respect; Responsibility; Caring.

At a Glance --- Age: 5 - 8; MPAA Rating -- G; Animated Drama; 1998; 96 minutes; Color. For children ages 9 - 12 see Learning Guide to this movie.



A colony of ants struggles to free itself from domination by a group of grasshoppers. At the same time, Flik, a non-conformist ant, tries to find his place in the colony. Flik's differences from the other ants allow him to find a way to help the ants defeat the grasshoppers.

"A Bug's Life" teaches respect for those who are different from the group, the importance of teamwork, and the necessity of owning up to your mistakes. Children can find inspiration in the character of Dot, the youngest and smallest ant, who does amazing things. The film can also be used as an occasion to learn about ants and insects.

Guides to Talking and Playing for Growth show parents and teachers how to use family movies to foster verbal development, social-emotional learning, and character education in children ages 5 - 8.

Every Guide to Talking and Playing for Growth provides film-related discussion prompts and games. Each Guide includes a story related to the movie. Designed by the creators of TeachWithMovies.com, in conjunction with Dr. Betty Bardige, Ed.D., the Guides make watching movies more than just entertainment.

Subscribe to TeachWithMovies.com. Just $11.99 per year gives you access to:
Guides to Talking and Playing for Growth for children ages 5 - 8: see our Index of Titles and the sample Guide for Finding Nemo; and

Hundreds of Learning Guides to supplement K-12 curriculum: check out the Nine Indexes and four sample Learning Guides.
New Guides will be added periodically.           To subscribe go to our Home Page.


Already a TeachWithMovies.com member? Click here.

For a more complete explanation of how to use movies to foster development through talk and play, see Ideas for Talking and Playing Using Family Movies. Babysitters can better serve their charges by talking with children about the movies children watch and organizing games based on situations in the films. See How Babysitters Can Enhance Verbal Development and Social-Emotional Learning.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against putting children age 2 or younger in front of a screen. For children 3 and above it recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours of educational, nonviolent programs each day. For these children family movies are a great way for intentional parents to use entertainment to enhance a child's verbal skills, social and emotional learning and character education.

"TeachWithMovies.com", "Talking and Playing for Growth", and the filmstrip and pencil logo are trademarks of TeachWithMovies.com, Inc.

social emotional learning