Bug Week!

We've started our new curriculum approach. Last week was bug week. Monday, we stayed home and read books about bugs. Our neighborhood library branch is being renovated and we were too late to catch the book mobile. Instead of checking out more books, we made bug pancakes. Note, cooking spray burns faster than cold butter.


One day, we had ladybug lunch: polenta cakes, with tomato slices, mozzarella, and marinara (broccoli on the side).


For a motor activity, we went to the yard and played a "Simon-says" type of game. Using chalk, I'd drawn bugs. I'd call out a bug & the kids would run to it. Then, I'd say "hop on the ladybug" or "spin on the spider." They loved it.

Another day, we made egg-crate caterpillars.

We looked up a brief time-lapsed video of a caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis - AWESOME! It took The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a whole new level.

Two days this week, we went bug hunting, which was a lot of fun. One morning, the kids got pretty dirty and had to have a quick bath before nap, only to get filthy again in the afternoon! We were pretty successful in our search. We found: a honey bee, a fuzzy larva, two bumblebees, some roly poly pill bugs, a monarch butterfly, a couple of moths, so many pincer bugs (earwigs), a few ants, many spiders and pseudo-spiders, and finally, a couple of beetles. The gold mine was beneath an old plank of wood. Pill bugs are really wood lice, so you'll often find them munching on fallen branches or decaying fences. The kids are practicing handling bugs gently and learning which are safe to handle and which to avoid.

Overall, bug week was a hit!

Next up, trains...