Bugging out

No one has to force kids to learn about creepy crawly bugs. There's a totally gross natural instinct for kids to wrangle a worm, poke at a rolly polly, and wish with all their heart that that ladybug doesn't fly off their fingers.

Things are moving fast; our vacation to Disneyland is fast approaching as is the new school year. For however long I can take it a couple weeks, we'll be doing a general bug study in honor of Bug's Land in California Adventure.

I'm not really grossed out. I love bugs! I just don't have the need to claw my way through the dirt and  pack the underside of my fingernails with dirt like my son does. When we've done a bug unit study in the past, it was a total hands-on experience, which is Aidyn's favorite style of learning. An assessment for that type of learning is usually measured by the amount of dirt under his nails and the pitch at which he rambles to the neighborhood kids about everything he learned.

I have loose plans. I know better than to overplan a fun unit like this.

Books:

Eric Carle books, including The Very Quiet Cricket, The Grouchy Ladybug , The Very Busy Spider ,The Very Hungry Caterpillar , and The Very Lonely Firefly

Videos:

The Magic School Bus: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
Microcosmos
An episode of Beakman's World, in which they cover bugs

Support:

Homeschoolshare's Eric Carle Unit Study with art activities, print-outs, and bug links.

Random:

1. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about making Worms in Mud

and other foods that inspire mild gross-outs. We'll see what kinds of craziness I can come up with.

2.  Bug Scavenger Hunt.

3. Bug Art

If I don't get a little grossed out at the state of Aidyn's nails once throughout our unit, I'm doing it wrong.