Learning about bugs - connection videos
Monday - What's an insect? - Let's begin our exploration of bugs! Some bugs are insects - do you know how we can tell if it is an insect? We'll learn the body parts that all insects have, put it into a song, and then see if you can help me decide which animals are insects or not insects. I am excited to show you what I discovered when I picked up a brick in my backyard! What do you think was there?
Follow-up ideas:
- Video - All about insects: https://youtu.be/rKQfJFAHW8Q
- Snack - make Ants on a log
- Exploration - look under a brick or rock and see what you find!
The little Caterpillar poem
The little caterpillar curled into a J
It turned into a chrysalis and slept for many days
While it was sleeeping, it dreamed that it could fly
Later when it woke up, it was a butterfly!
Word of the day: Metamorphosis! Ladybugs go through metamorphosis, as do butterflies and many other insects. Do you know what ladybugs do that is helpful to plants and people?
Follow-up ideas:
- The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle: https://youtu.be/Jr3ha03MsK0
- The Ladybug song (Frank Leto): https://youtu.be/qjhSgMqsAfM
Thursday - Bees! I went to visit some very important insects - you can see their hive behind me. Also a hint for finding ladybugs on your outdoor explorations. Some video links below will show you what is happening inside the hive and how bees are so important to people:
- Mystery Science mini-lesson: How do bees make honey?
- Time Lapse Photography Video of a Bee’s Life - see the larvae hatching out of the eggs and then their metamorphosis into bees!
- Kids Learn Why Bees are Awesome (Nat. Geo video)
- A Beekeepers Life (Nat. Geo. "Weird but True" video)
Mindfulness: "Bee breath"
Friday - a few more bugs! We finished our week learning about insects and other bugs with a special invertebrate that is not an insect. It has a long, soft body and turns compost into "food for the earth" - do you know what they are? Also an easy activity you can do inside or outside to make your own insect. Just make sure it has a head, thorax, and abdomen! Don't forget the 6 legs coming out of the thorax or the 2 antennae on its head!
Exploration
Make a bug catcher (container & cardboard)
This let’s kids transfer bugs from inside back out to their natural habitat :-)
Make your own bug!
Can you make a bug out of playdough? Legos? Leaves and sticks?
Movement
Can you move like an insect?- hop like a grasshopper
- fly like a bee
- crawl like a caterpillar
- scurry like an ant
Act out the Butterfly life stages: (curl up like an egg, crawl like a caterpillar, hold still and rigid like a chrysalis, fly like a butterfly!