This month the children of school-age 2 enjoyed exploring bugs! The children were given jars with breathable lids, tweezers, nets, and magnifying glasses for this activity. Before catching bugs, the children were reminded the importance of being gentle to the animals and respecting their habitat. When asked how they can be kind to the animals, Leila said, “Don’t destroy their homes,” and Elliot said, “Don’t step on them.”
Afterwards, the children searched the area; as they were searching, Gabriel said, “We’re gonna work as a team!” They started working in teams and assigned roles. Some children would look around the area and notify the catchers if they found any bugs, then the catchers would capture them and give them to the bug keepers. The bug keepers were then in charge of making sure that everyone can get a look at the bug, and once they did they released them back into the wild.
This activity developed the children’s gross motor skills as it had the children jump, bend, and run around searching for and chasing insects. They also enjoyed having the freedom to explore nature. The children demonstrated collaboration and problem-solving skills with each other by helping their peers and thinking of solutions on how to catch the bugs, especially those in hard-to-reach places, and very fast bugs; we did this by using twigs and woodchips to gently catch the bugs, put them in the jar, and examine them in order to to identify them, making a list of the types of bugs they found. Their inquiry skills and sense of wonder led them to find out that they ended up catching a dragonfly, a fly, a spider, an ant, a beetle, and a wasp! Great job, school-age 2! It will be exciting to look forward to what other insects they can explore in the future.
