Get ready to get buggy as we explore bugs and butterflies this week! Ready for some serious fun?
Activities
How about creating a butterfly suncatcher- Explore a bit of science and make glasses of dancing worms or creating a toe caterpillar on a leaf rubbing?
- Try creating a butterfly themed snack.
- How about playing some bug bingo?
- Create a sensory bug bin to investigate!
- Read Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and create a whimsical lunch plate!
Check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest site for more great ideas!
Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. Here are a few places to go, that fit this theme:
- Two local attractions offer the opportunity to surround yourself with hundreds of live butterflies from all over the world and learn about their metamorphosis and the part they play in our ecosystem.
- Brookeside Gardens in Wheaton has Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly & Caterpillar Exhibit going on July 1- September 22.
- The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC offers a Live Butterfly Pavilion. Unlike the rest of the museum, this exhibit requires timed entry tickets and there is a fee.
- Also at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, you can visit the Orkin Insect Zoo. Don’t miss the tarantula feedings daily at 11:30am and 1:30pm.
- Goldpetal Farms has a second sunflower maze opening on July 21st. The flowers attracts bees and butterflies!
Videos – You can find many great videos of butterflies and insects on YouTube. Check out these videos for kids about bees and ants. All about Insects covers lots of tiny creatures who crawl and fly. Here is a video showing a Monarch Butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse.
Photo: Nick Goodrum {flickr} & Cynthia Chan