In the Classroom: The Fireflies
Bugs!
We have started a new investigation on insects and it has been very exciting. The nature playground was where it all began. We were looking at worms in the garden every day! The kids got interested in searching for ants when playing on the steps in the blacktop. So we are now exploring the playground for anything that crawls or flies.
Today we went to campus to look for bugs together. The class found some ants crawling on the trees; this lends itself to conversations about how to care for insects and how can we pick them up without hurting them. It also leads to questions like what other animals live in trees.
We spoke about how strong ants actually are. Some kids found some wild mushrooms and wanted to see if the ant could carry them.
When working with the kids outside and in nature, they are engaged and interested. They are so happy to be out, watching nature or listening to its sounds. The combination of wide open space and active exploration has a visible impact on the children. There is a noticeable calm and focus. This is the perfect place to be and studying all of the wonderful things they want to learn about.
Meanwhile, in the classroom we added some plastic bugs that we borrowed from the Peanuts and they have brought up questions like, What bugs can fly? Which ones can't fly?
We have also added some books about insects. We read Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni and were building recall by asking questions at the end. Who were the characters in the book? We want to know more about the animals in this book, too. The more we begin to dig into this topic the more questions the kids will have and the more we get to learn.
Classrooms