Insect Collection

My four-year-old is really into nature.  She loves plants and animals, even bugs.  When we are outside, she is usually digging in the garden looking for snails, earthworms, and insects.  Wanting to grab onto something she was already interested in we decided to create an insect collection during our summer break.  It was a perfect ongoing activity for her and made for multiple opportunities to learn.  My daughter referred to this project as her "science work" -- thank you, Montessori!  

Photo:  TheEducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

Our favorite places to find (dead) insect specimens for our collection were in the pool baskets, window sills between the glass and screen, and on sidewalks. 

Photo:  TheEducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

With each find, we followed up with a little research:  What is it's name? What does it eat? How long does it live?  We used the Internet to identify the bug  and then followed up with a couple books for more details.  The Texas A&M online insect archive was especially helpful for identification purposes.  We used Texas Bug Book: The Good, the Bad, and the Uglyand 1000 Facts On Bugsfor further research.

Photo:  TheEducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

When we first started I wasn't quite sure how to organize these insects.  Many bug collectors pin specimens to a mat but that idea made me a little queasy.  One day I was looking in our craft closet and found a Melissa & Doug bead setthat was almost empty.  I put the remaining contents in a bag and decided that we could reuse the handsome wooden box bottom and clear plastic lid for her collection.  I used my hot glue gun to secure the insects to the wooden box.  Then I created labels for the common and scientific names of each insect with my label maker.  I helped my daughter place the labels next to the insects.  

Photo:  TheEducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com

My daughter's collection now includes the following:  dragonflies, a house fly, three kinds of ladybugs, a grasshopper, cicadas, cicada killers, honey bees, a June bug, and a Betsy beetle.  She enjoys studying the insects with her magnifying glass and also likes making sketches of the bugs in a little spiral-bound notebook.  Drawing the insects gives her an opportunity to study the insects' body parts:  wings, antennae, legs (6), head, thorax, and abdomen. 

Photo:  http://www.primarythinking.net/ANIMALS_Bugs/insects_Types_Grasshopper.htm

I will warn you that this is a slightly stinky endeavor!  Insects have exoskeletons that don't decay much and their insides dry out quickly but there is still an unpleasant smell. When the lid is on the collection you shouldn't have a problem but if you open the lid to add a specimen or label make sure to hold your nose!  Stink included, this project is well worth it and your child will finish their summer with a well-organized insect collection that they can keep -- at least for a while.  

Photo:  TheEducatedPreschooler.blogspot.com