Insects

This week we learned about insects.  I was inspired because we had the exterminator out a while back.  Whatever they used outside, drove a few bugs inside.  Also, we had a few unidentified bugs in our hall bathroom upstairs.  During this period, Lauren started running into our room and saying, “Ahh, there’s a bug in my room!” or believing she might have found one on the floor, often finding nothing more than a piece of fuzz.  I figured that if we learned about insects, she could start thinking about them and be more logical, less scared.

However, I found that even thinking about bugs can be a little gross, so I realized I needed to attempt to make some things a little more girl friendly.

We only did three days of lessons this week; grasshoppers, ants, and flies. 

Day One – Grasshoppers

First, we talked about insects in general.  We learned several facts about insects which we reviewed over and over.  They have an exoskeleton.  They have three body parts; the head, thorax and abdomen.  They always have six legs, so spiders are not insects.  They have antenna which they use to smell. 

We watched these youtube videos:

Icky Icky Insects http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYawa4piO4k

What is an Insect? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g5oHKzldmY

I used these flashcards. http://www.scribd.com/doc/98941946 

I had bought these toys from Amazon :  http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Republic-Polybag-Insect-Pieces/dp/B000H72C16/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1341286843&sr=1-2&keywords=insects  -

I believe that having a toy that relates to what we are learning is very beneficial because each time it is played with, in their minds, they are reviewing what they know about it.  Also in their imaginative playing, they can use what they know to enhance their reasoning and imagining. 

We used the grasshopper toy, we identified the three body parts, counted the legs, found the antenna.  Then, we just discussed the grasshopper.  We talked about the fact that it eats grass.  We talked about how the males chirp to attract females and we listened to a grasshopper chirping on youtube.  We talked about the fact it jumps and why, which is just to help it move faster.  We also talked about farmers sometimes have problems if there are too many grasshoppers because they can eat the crops.

We used this coloring sheet, we used markers to color differently the head, thorax and abdomen. 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/98941848

I prepared a reading exercise that was going to serve us all week, but Lauren had a shorter attention span for insects and so we only did this the first day.

I also made cards to do math word problems with insects, but we really didn’t get to it.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98941918

Day two:  Ants

For Allie, we just said “Ant, Grasshopper” and had her try to pick the right toy.

As I was finding that Lauren has no special odd-for-a-girl interest in insects, I tried to engage her in other ways before the lesson along with getting Allie interested.  So, we watched the “Ants Go Marching” and played rhythm instruments with it.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_904086&src_vid=ARfLaNJcpsw&v=ooCFd3uStbg&feature=iv

We looked at the ant toy and identified the parts, reviewed the term “exoskeleton”

We watched this video:  http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/wild-detectives-kids/wd-ep4-ants/

Craft:  We made ants out of marbles, fake grass turf samples from Home Depot and beading wire.  I just had these things on hand, I was originally plannig to make them out of pom-poms and cut up pipe cleaners. 

Day Three:  Flies

We introduced the fly to Allie by playing with it.  Even though this seems so simple, showing her the behavior of the fly is a pretty sophisticated things…has they go by the ear, how they land for a moment and take off.  I think, in some ways, this is teaching to a one year old at it’s finest.

I continued using peer pressure of getting Allie engaged to peak Lauren’s interest, we watched this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPuw9wZrl10  Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me.

We reviewed the parts of the bug flashcards.  We looked at the fly toy and identified the parts, reviewed exoskeleton and antenna.  We talked about flies, they live 15 days and like to eat fruit and veggies.

GAME!  We had a ball with this game!  I used the fly swatter and covered it with tape.  I made slips of paper with grasshoppers, ants and flies on it.  I had Lauren hit the right bug after I called its name, I let Allie hit whatever she could.  This video is towards the end of the game, but it was a big hit as you can tell.

Fly craft:  http://www.freekidscrafts.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_patterns&id=834 Found this craft online.  Here is the finished product.

With every lesson that we do, I always "raid" the library and get many, many books on the subject.  Even if the books are sometimes not at the right level for them, I might still sometimes borrow them because we can still talk about the pictures.

Even though I didn't do everything I wanted to this week, I still feel really, really great about it because Lauren is no longer afraid of bugs.  She found an Earwig, picked it up and called it her “pet bug”  When we see bugs, she stops and investigates its specific qualities.  We had to drag her away from some ants on a sidewalk.  Bugs are incredible and so ubiquitous, it was even fun for me to contemplate them.   There are more #’s of just beetles than all other creatures of Earth combined.  It is the most successful creature on the planet.  Pretty cool!!