the ants go marching....

This isn't really about ants -- ants are just the only insect we managed to capture on film last week during our "bug theme" week. Actually, last week and this week are sort of overlapping themes -- the kids were defintiely on a bug kick last week so we went with it -- they played Bug Bingo, we took Bug Walks, watched a really cool Bug Documentary (called Microcosmos), watched "A Bug's Life" for our Family Movie Night, and of course we read Bug Books. But THIS weeks' theme (and something that we'll probably stick with over the next few weeks) is Flower Gardens, both the flowers that grow there, and the bugs (and other critters) that live there.

In any case, here's our reading materials from last week:

Our three Family Story-time books were:

Bugs are Insects, by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Steven Jenkins. This is another of the Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science books put out by Scholastic that I've mentioned previously. It's a little more fact-based than I like for storytime, but appropriate in that I myself learned a LOT about insects from it. Like, for instance, that a Bug is not just any insect, it's a special classification of insect (just like Beetle is a special classification) -- bugs have a head shaped like a triangle and a mouth like a beak. So Ladybugs, while insects, are not bugs. Pretty interesting stuff!

The Lamb and the Butterfly, by Arnold Sundgaard, pictures by Eric Carle. This is a story about diversity and differences, but it stars a butterfly, so was perfect for our theme. And I love Eric Carle's art -- so colorful and textured.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me? by Anne Rockwell. This was definitely the hit of the week! It's a garden guessing game, where on each turn of the page, a different flower gives a different insect clues as to what type of flower it is, then reveals the answer. My kids LOVED this book, and learned the names of some of the most common garden flowers and insects along with it.

Books that were "strewn" (available for them to explore on their own): Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Jennifer Dussling, What Lives in the Garden by John Woodward, The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle, and The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle. (Yes, we love Eric Carle.)

Materials that were strewn: magnifying glasses, plastic insects, Bug Bingo game, Insects flash cards (photos and facts about insects), 'bug jars' for capturing and holding (temporarily) insects to study.

Activities: we been focused on finding and observing insects while on walks and playing outdoors.