Home School Hour - Bugs

October 2016 Home School Hour

BUGS!

 Our October 2016 Home School program focused on entomology. We discussed Arthropods (what separates Insects from Arachnids?), and the parts of a 'bug.' Each table received a pile of six plastic bugs to separate into these groups. We used these 4 inch plastic bugs, and they worked very well (although some of the children had to flip the grasshopper over to count its body sections, since the wings covered its back).

I caught a few insects before the program so that we could observe and discuss our own local creatures. We talked about invasive species with the Japanese Lady Beetles, and life cycles with the Banded Woolly Bear (including a picture of the Isabella Tiger Moth it will turn into). We also observed some crickets, and a female Cabbage White Butterfly... discussing how their body shapes help them survive (strong legs for jumping, large wings for flying... the butterfly's proboscis for drinking nectar, etc.).

We talked about how to use a butterfly net, sharing tips like flipping the net over its handle so that the insects can't escape. The kids were very eager to show me how they'd catch bugs in different situations (I put the plastic bee in different spots... on a table, the floor, the back of a chair... I then handed them the net and let them show me what methods they would use to catch the bee without harming it). 

For our snack time, we had cheddar Puffcorn. Halfway through, I asked the kids to stop and take a look at their hands to see the cheese dust that was stuck to their fingers. This led to a conversation about pollination. I explained how pollen stuck to the legs of bees and butterflies as they stopped on flowers... just like the cheese dust stuck to them during their snacking. We discussed the importance of pollination, and the role bees play in our food production. We also talked about what to do if a bee lands on you, and ways we can help save their populations. 

We ended the program with a quick review. I held up each of the plastic bugs so we could talk about what we learned about them... then did the same with the jars. 

I also tried to explain cicadas, but the kids are all too young to have experienced one of the seventeen year cycles. I did give them a (very) poorly drawn image of a cicada shell, and an adult cicada displayed in a case from a few (12?) years back. Oh well... they'll get to see as many as they want in five more years!