My Bug: Spined Oak Borer Beetle:
Fun Facts:
There is about 25,000 species of beetles
3/4 inches long
Antennae is longer than its body
Wood borer beetles attack stressed, dying, or dead trees.
Live 1-3 years in hardwoods
Bugs in the Classroom!
Children get so excited when they see bugs outside. They also get very curious and ask a million questions. In my experience, 9 times out of 10, my answer to all of the questions is "I don't know." But that is never my answer. It is very important that we use children's curiosity about bugs as a teachable moment. If you don't know the answer to their question, teach them ways to discover the answer. Even if it not possible to find the answer, promoting deep thought about their questions is much better than ignoring them.
Books about Bugs:
*Children observe, take photographs, draw pictures, or write stories about the bugs that they see outside (Nature Journal)
*Give each child a bug to research and have them make a book page about their bug-combine all of the pages to make a classroom book.
*Bug Sorting: Have the children sort bug counters or photo cards of bugs in a variety of ways to discover what they notice about the similarities and differences.
*Bug Sensory Bin
*Bug Scavenger Hunt: Give the children magnifying glasses and a checklist of bugs that they might find outside and give them time to search for bugs, checking off the ones that they see
*Bug Guessing Game: The teacher will begin by explaining a bug and have the children guess what it is. After a couple rounds, the teacher will give the children a chance to try to get their friends to guess their bug.
Here is a link to a video tour of a classroom with a bug theme that shows some great ways to integrate bugs inside the classroom: https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/setting-up-the-toddler-and-preschool-classroom-for-the-bug-theme/?jwsource=cl
