BUG HUNT ACTIVITIES

BIG BUGS, LITTLE BUGS (Toddlers and Twos)

Take you little ones on a nature walk to look for bugs. Tell children to observe only and not touch (toddlers might touch an insect that could sting). Together talk about how some bugs crawl and other fly. Then pretend to be an insect and move like the bugs you see. Sing songs like “Eensy Weensy Spider”, “Bringing Home A Baby Bumblebee” and this fun song: (Tune: “Farmer In The Dell)
Oh! Squiggly, wiggle worms
Make tunnels in the ground.
Squiggly, wiggle, squiggle worms
Are squirming all around.
Later, plan a “bug hunt” by hiding several plastic toy bugs around the room and invite toddlers to find them. Another variation is to fill a dishpan with rice, hiding the toy bugs inside. Children can catch the toy bugs by using a tweezer or tongs to pull the insects out.


BUGS ARE COOL (Preschool +)

In order to observe insects closely, try capturing a few placing them in a well-confined temporary home. With a little “bug hotel”, children can invite friendly insects inside to spend a day or night studying them through its many windows. Your group can use poster paint to decorate the outside of an oatmeal container. Paint or draw the windows, then use scissors or a craft knife (adults only) to cut them open. Placing insect stickers on the container would be fun too. Take a piece of window screening and roll it so it rests snugly around the inside of the container. Trim so the top edge fits beneath the lid, and leave a one-inch overlap where the sides meet. Place the lid on top. Glue a hotel sign on the container—let the children choose the name. After you have captured the insects, take time together to look at the bugs closely either with the naked eye or use a magnifying glass. Count the legs, wings, antennae and look at the colors and patterns of the insect. Be kind to your guests—provide some nature food and water (a filled plastic water cap) while they are visiting. When observation is over, you can just unfasten the lid and let the insects fly out.


IT’S TIME TO VIEW SOME TUNNELS (School Age)

This is prime time for making an earthworm ranch. These see-through ranches allow children to watch worms tunnel and turn your organic garbage into fertilizer. After observatory time, children can transplant these cute cultivators outside, where they’ll help aerate and fertilize the soil. Take a 1-2 gallon wide mouth jar or a small 5-gallon aquarium and fill it with compost and soil. Compost is matter such as fruit and vegetable peels, old leaves, and any food not eaten (except for animal products which smell as it rots). In your ranch container, layer the compost with soil, moistening each layer with water. Let it sit for a few days, stirring it and moistening it occasionally with a spray mister. Gather about six worms. After a rain, you can find them almost anywhere; under leaves and especially in moist soil. Put the worms on top of the soil of your ranch container covering the top with a screen top. Since worms like it dark, cover the sides of the container with black construction paper and tape it in place. Set the worm ranch in a cool, shady place. Keep the soil moist and remember to keep adding compost. After a few days, remove the black paper and look for the worm tunnels.
Ant farms are also a fun project for your group. Fill a one-gallon jar partially full of soil. Find an anthill and with a shovel, lift the surrounding dirt. Place this dirt and ants into the jar. Be sure to capture the queen ant (she is larger and has wings). Cover the top of the jar with some fabric and secure this with a wide rubber band. Wrap dark construction paper around the jar to encourage them to make tunnels. Place breadcrumbs and a damp cotton ball on top of the soil. Pour a little water on the cotton every few days. Remove the dark paper in several days and observe the tunnels.



Submitted by Tania Cowling
Associate Editor/EverydayTLC