Bye, Bye, Bye, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

We had such a wonderful time discovering the interesting world of insects at Bugs, Bugs, Bugs this year. Whether we were looking for bugs that were hiding from us, or hiding from bugs that were looking for us (mosquitoes), we had a fantastic time and learned a lot. We hope to see everyone later this summer at Wild Wednesdays or on the Animal Adventures Treasure Hunt, or next summer at another camp. Until then, keep adventuring and stay wild!

What We Learned

At the end of each day we reviewed what we had done and listed what we had learned. Below is a list in the students' words about what they learned during Bugs, Bugs, Bugs camp.

What We Learned

* Some insects migrate somewhere warm for the winter and some hibernate

* Ants like honey

* Butterflies migrate

* Beetles live in gooey places

* Insects are little and fast

* Some insects jump, some slide across water

* How to catch bugs

* Monarchs go through life cycles

* Dragonflies have white on the tips of their wings and damselflies do not

* Some insects are camouflaged

* Some insects live in lake weed

* baby aquatic insects do not have wings

What We Want to Learn

After making a list of what we already know, we made a list of what we want to learn while at camp. This helped students to anticipate what we were going to learn and facilitate in discovery. Below is a list of questions posed by the students throughout the camp.

What We Want to Learn

* How do caterpillars make a pupa?

* Why do some bugs go in my house?

* Why do butterflies have wings?

* How do ants crawl up the wall without falling off?

* Why do bees have stingsers?

What We Know

At the start of Bugs, Bugs, Bugs it was important for the students to tell us what they already knew about insects so we could build off their prior knowledge and make connections. Below you'll find a list, in the children's own words, of what they knew about insects on Day 1.

What We Know

* Some bugs have 2 pairs of wings, some have 4, and some have none

* Some bugs like water and swim

* There might be bugs in the lake

* Flies can bite

* Spiders fly, have 8 legs, make webs

* Insects have 6 legs

* Some insects eat other bugs

* Some come from cocoons

* Bugs can live in logs

Our presentations for our parents went really well; everyone contributed to show what we had learned! We then finished our fun-filled camp with our favorite song, "Head, Thorax, Abdomen".

Back at the lab we put together posters using pictures from the past two days. We described what we had been doing and decorated them with stamps in preparation for our presentations.

We flew back to our headquarters as dragonflies would!

Outside we found trays with plenty of neat aquatic insects to study.

We then met on the porch to read a story about aquatic insects. We each got a two-sided puppet. One side had the larval form of an insect, and the other the adult form.

We also used our model insects to hop, fly, scamper, and buzz around the classroom.

Day 3 of Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

We resumed our bug adventures with an aquatic insect learning center where we used scientific instruments (plastic spoons) to examine dragon flies, damselflies, caddisflies, and even a fish!

Lastly we worked on camouflaging our own insects which we hope we can show to the parents tomorrow in our final presentation!

We then came back to the porch to record what we learned today and read a story about camouflaged insects.

We played a game in which the children acted as Monarchs on their migration to Mexico, stopping and resting at "trees" when the sun went behind a cloud.

We then read a really interesting story about the Monarch Butterflies' migration to Mexico, which would come in handy for our next activity...

We also used our nets on the hike to catch what we could amidst the grass.

We then went on a hike to check our bug traps that we had set yesterday. We found many kinds of animals such as ants, beetles, mosquitoes, and even a slug! Here Mackenzie's dead fish attracted the tastes of a beetle.

We sang a song called head, thorax, abdomen (to the tune of "head, shoulders, knees, and toes") to learn about the different parts of an insect's body.

We were amazed to see that so many of our larval beetles had sprouted legs!

We used magnifying glasses to check on our class pet, Chunky the caterpillar.

Day 2 of Bugs, Bugs, Bugs Begins!

We started Day 2 of Bug Camp off right by using cool insect stencils to color pictures

When we finished our hike, we used goodies from nature to make insect art. Here gavin uses leaves, acorns, and twigs to make a picture of an ant.

After setting our traps, we set out on a hike armed with nets and bug-viewing necklaces to see what we could catch.

We found places we thought bugs might live and put our bug traps there!

DJ found a great place to hide his bug trap which we'll check tomorrow.

We then ventured outside to make and set bug traps to be left over night!

We put our heads together to come up with a list of things that we know about insects and things we would like to learn about insects.

Our teacher, Erika, red us a story about a very hungry caterpillar.

Our nametags turned out to be very colorful!

We worked together to complete a puzzle with different kinds of insects on it.

Kaleb transformed into a bug with the insect-eyes glasses!

Some of the insects were pupas, some maggots, and some full grown beetles.

We colored nametags with our favortie insects!

Bugs Life

One learning center allowed us to learn hands-on what the life cycle of a bug was. Here Mackenzie plays with maggots.

Welcome to Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

We started our adventure with learning centers. Here, Van tries on some cool glasses to feel what its like to see like a bug.