It’s getting close to school starting; we’re over here
trying to stave off end of summer break boredom. So what did we do when we found a dead bug in
the garage this morning? We studied it! My kids are super interested in insects, so I
was actually able to hold their interest for almost an hour with these
activities (and that’s saying something for a wild 2 and 4 year old).
First, we watched a few videos on insects and the parts of
their bodies on YouTube. Here were our 3
favorites. Max loved dancing and
clapping to the Insect Song video.
Then, I found this free printable worksheet by The Gift of Curiosity on the parts of
an insect’s body. Aidan cut out the
bigger parts himself with scissors, and asked me to cut out the legs since they
were a bit smaller and he’s still working on building his cutting skills. He was able to glue and assemble the insect
himself and sign his name.
Finally, we used the new magnifying glass and tweezers set we
got from Learning Resources to examine the bug itself. Aidan counted all 6 legs and was able to
point out the antennae, head, abdomen, and thorax (though he pronounced it “lorax”). Max’s favorite part was when the insect’s leg
fell off because it was a little dried out from being in the hot garage.
What are you doing to keep busy at the end of summer break?
