Bug camp was a huge success. The little scientists got to do all sorts of bug play and investigating. The playground was wild with grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, "dragonflies," and spiders too. We had lots of conversations about "how many legs?" and "what is that buzzing sound?"
My favorite quote of the week was, "LOOK Jessica, I caught a bee!"
And so she had.... quite securely between two cups. Those who dared, came and had a peak and then it was released. Of course I had to be the one to release it, which resulted in me sneaking behind the school and flinging the top and bottom cup and their contents as hard as I could without the children seeing me.
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| "A lovely little home for bugs." |
There were lots of bugs inside as well.
It is not very often that I prepare a craft for the preschoolers. They always love it when I do. The materials were laid out on the table during free play as an option.
I pre-cut the circles and the heads and also put out black paint with corks, glue, markers and googly eyes. They chose how they wanted to make their ladybugs. There was quite a bit of variation. A couple older kids even asked for additional supplies to create their own baby ladybugs or to add details to their bug that I hadn't thought of. One child stapled two white wings to a fan and then attached it to the underside of the ladybug so the wings could open and shut.
I think it is important that IF you are offering a craft that results in a product, that children are always allowed to create it with their own ideas and in their own ways. I cringe at the thought of a parent or teacher rearranging art work or suggesting to a child where to put certain pieces. I always leave similar supplies on the art shelf for a week or so after, to see what they come up with on their own.
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