The Big Book of Bugs

June 13, 2024

by Yuval Zommer

Craft and Steam Activities

We just wrapped up a fun week of learning about the world of bugs. It all started with a simple question and a surprising answer.

"What's in your pocket?" I asked one of my students as we left the playground. Her suspicious grin, a giveaway.

"Just nothing," she said casually avoiding my eyes and burying her hand just a little deeper into her pocket.

"She has a family of rolly pollies in there!" announced her fellow young scientist, unable to contain her excitement. And sure enough, scientist number one pulled a collection of confused looking rolly pollies out of her pocket.

These two friends had been digging for worms all week, and their latest discovery of pillbugs—or rolly pollies—opened up a whole new world of wondering and learning. After discussing how to care for these little critters, we all agreed that it was best to set them free. After all, they had a very important job to do keeping our ecosystem healthy. This moment of curiosity sparked a classroom-wide learning about bugs.

Our Journey Begins

We began by reading The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer. This beautifully illustrated book provided a fabulous information about insects and their habitats. Here are some of the activities that followed our reading:

Bug Hunt: With magnifying glasses, petri dishes , and a set of these fabulous BugViews tools in hand, we were ready for our bug hunt! We found plenty! We observed ants, inch worms, ladybugs, and of course, the amazing pillbugs! We documented our learning in our science notebooks using pictures and words. It was amazing listening to our young scientists describe the characteristics of the insects they observed.

Bug Hotel Creation: We used recycled materials to build bug hotels for our backyard bugs.

The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures by Curtis Manley

The following day, our bug exploration continued with the story, The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures by Curtis Manley. This is a beautiful tale of compassion and care for small creatures. Inspired by this beautiful story, we engaged in various hands-on activities:

Bug Rescue Mission: We set up a bug rescue station in our dramatic play area. Students drew pictures of the bugs we have observed outside. We researched the different insects and learned cool facts about them. We also learned about how they benefit our ecosystem and our responsibility to care for them.

Bug Art: Students created models of bugs using clay. They also worked on completing this fun bug booklet. CLICK HERE FOR A FREE COPY!