Insect Safari: Teaching Children About Insects

Insect Safari: Teaching Children About Insects

National Insect Week is between 25th June to 1st July, so with this mind we have written a list of ways you can teach your children about all of the creepy crawlies they might come across in your garden, the school playground, the woods or even the park. National Insect Week only happens once every two years and the Royal Entomological Society organise it to encourage all ages to get involved and learn more about nature. Insects are a great way of learning about habitats, classification and nature, both near and far from your child. With such a variety, there are so many interesting facts to learn, your children will love getting involved with the outdoors and learning new facts to impress their friends with come September. With the summer holidays fast approaching, you will be looking for some fun, engaging and also educational activities to keep your children busy over the summer months. There are

Inside Activities, for when the summer is truly British..:

1. Lists – this could be words, pictures or both! Asking your children to creative a list of all of the insects that they know, what they look like and where they think they can be found will get them thinking about what they have previously discovered. Keep these lists engaging and interactive, perhaps use a chalk board, white board, create a collage, paint or draw them. Keep things crafty and fun!
2. Visual images – anything from books, encyclopaedias’, magazines’ and print outs from the internet, for younger children a more fictional approach. With the insects that they discover, get them to explain what they are and where they could be found. Also the characteristics they hold, how big, how many legs, how to they move.

Outside Activities, for when the sun is out and letting off steam is much needed:

• Take your children on their very own insect safari / bug hunt! This is more interactive and tactile, where they can get up close and see for themselves, experience the local environments and conditions.
• With insects living in the ground, above the ground, under logs and rocks, amongst plants and trees, around other animals and different environments and temperatures, there are so many places you can take your children. Get them to explore in long and short grasses, different trees and flowers, vegetable gardens, forests, logs, bark, also in and around ponds and lakes too.
• Be prepared. Equipment – a magnifying glass to get a clear picture of what their findings look close up, pencils, pens and paper for writing down findings and drawing pictures of creatures, a camera for capturing photographic evidence, perhaps a net for picking up insects, a mud filled jar to house their insects once captures. Get creative!
• Compare wet and dry environments, the variety of conditions and the different insects that live amongst them. This would be great for taking your child out to the day to a different environment that the garden, a trip out to the local lakes and ponds are extra exciting!
• Ensure your child thinks about why they live where they do – what sources they get from those environments – shelter, warmth, food sources etc.

Resources:

• James and the Giant Peach book – This well-known Roald Dahl book tells the tale of James who lives his existence in an enormous peach with a range of insects.
• National Geographic Kids have a range of insect facts, I’m sure the closer we get to National Insect Week, the more they will display. Our favourites are cool facts about ladybirds, ants and bugs.
• The Imagination Tree have put together a list of 50 different activities for playing and learning with insects – these activities range from learning, arts and crafts, science based activities, sensory experiences, motor skills, investigations and delicious treats (YUM!).
• Playground Equipment have collated a list of resources to help your little ones learn everything they need to know about insects on the playground – from ladybirds to honeybees.

For your slightly older children, take a look at Home Science Tools, who have created a list of insect specific science projects that are both fun and educational, we would love to know how you get on!

• Bug Zoo – Your children can create their own habitats for insects to thrive, ensuring they have all the elements needed to survive – they can watch them up close, with a magnifying glass and keep notes on their findings.
• Insect Attraction – With this activity your children can discover the creepy crawlies that live around them in the garden, by setting out bait they can find out which insects are around them every day.
• Bug Book – Perfect for the more arts & crafty of your children, create their very own insect book, filled with images, facts and drawings.

We would love to hear all about your summer insect adventures, don’t forget to share with us what you got up to. To embrace National Insect Week, why not invest in one of our favourite ‘flutterbugs’ designs in our Fab & Funky StickEasy Stickers for Clothing range. These stick-on labels are the simplest and quickest way of labelling all types of your children’s clothing.