bug safari

Well, we took a few days off. Personal reasons took us back home to St. Louis for a few days.

But today we got back into the swing of things.

Our backyard play this afternoon quickly turned into some serious bug hunting.

The dragonflies were everywhere.

They started out chasing them down but then discovered this was not a good way to catch them.

The stalking began!

When Chris got home we took the show on the road with much more success.

Moths, crickets, a big dragonfly and a monarch!

Sam's favorite part was letting the insects go shortly after we caught them. This series of photos is so fun!

Keep your eyes on that butterfly!

Look on the right side of Sam's face, in her hair, do you see the butterfly?

Yup, and there is the freak out with the butterfly moving safely away!

So funny!

Avery's new favorite thing to do on hikes is lay down.

Which is exactly what I want her to do! HA!!

But we still got the hike in and had a great time.

And both girls can't wait to take the net and bug tube out again!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Bug hunting is a great toddler friendly activity. They have fun during all stages of this activity and can play a big part in all of it. Start them out with looking closely for things to catch, then the chase to try and catch them, then helping you after you get one in the net to transfer it into a container, then observing the critter and finally letting it go.

Don't get hung up on trying to teach them about the bugs. No real knowledge of insects is needed to have a great bug safari. Simple enjoy the time outside, help them with the catching and encourage them to be gentle when handling the critters. If you want to include more learning or observation but don't have the background knowledge about exactly what you are catching focus on more simple things like counting body parts, identifying body parts, describing colors, how it moves and how it compares to other things you have caught. Questions on those topics can lead to lots of great observation time and insightful conversations.

If you didn't notice all of our fun today required only a pond net and an old tennis ball container! Fun can't get much cheaper than that. Love outdoor play and learning that doesn't require a lot of gear and expense.