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Showing posts with label bug safari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bug safari. Show all posts

Friday, April 26, 2019

Bug Safari Activity for Kids by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Bug Safari Activity for Kids by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

When I read that 7 citiies in the UK are participating in the #CityNatureChallenge on Twitter, I immediately thought of the “Bug Safari” program I did with the Monterey Peninsual Regional Parks District when I was the Youth Services Librarian for Monterey County California.

This is a school age – 12 and under – program that includes a nature walk with song, stories, and art projects afterwards.  The Parks District handled the nature walk, and I did the cultural part of the program.

Three libraries with nearby parks participated in the program:

-Marina – Locke Paddon Park

-Seaside – Laguna Grande Park

-Carmel Valley – Carmel Valley Park

After the walk with pointing out all cobwebs and flying creatures, we began the library park of the walk by singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider a few times till we got the gestures right.  The gestures help memorize the song.

Picture Books

Then, I read the following insect-related picture books:

-A picture book version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider as children made the hand gestures and recited

-Anansi the Spider books – African folktales about a smart spider

-The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

-The Ant and the Grasshopper fable from Aesop’s fables written by an ancient Roman storyteller

-A nonfiction photo book about chrysalis to butterfly formation

Art Projects

-3D Spider

Construction paper body with wobbly eyes pasted on and legs made of strips of construction paper folded back and forth and released as springs.  Use black construction paper and a white crayon to make a cobweb.

-Butterfly Painting

Fold white typing paper in half and fill in one side with paint to look like half a butterfly.  Fold the other side down and press.  Open paper up to find a symmetrical butterfly.

Can make a bumblebee this way with yellow and black alone.

-Use drawing books to draw the following insects:

-ladybugs
-butterflies
-mosquitos
-bees
-dragonflies
-spiders

The easiest drawing books for children to begin drawing insects break the bug down into geometric shapes and then color them in with pencils.

I used insect drawing books from the collection of the Monterey County Free Libraries, which included books such as the following:

-How to Draw Insects by Barbara Soloff Levy

-Ralph Masiello’s Bug Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello

-How to Draw: Insects by Dandi Palma

-Learn to Draw Insects: Step-by-Step Instructions for 26 Creepy Crawlies by Dina Fisher

-How to Draw Amazing Animals and Incredible Insects: Packed with Over 100 Fascination Animals by Fiona Gowne

To finish up, we would discuss which art projects were the most interesting to draw and why and which books they liked the best and why.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books