image courtesy of clker.com
Get our your magnifying glasses, because tis the season to hunt for bugs! One of our favorite things to do in the Spring and Summer months has been to search, discover, and learn about insects. To make this experience even more exciting for the kids, I created an ABC scavenger hunt.
My intention is to bring our ABC list along when we are out in nature as well as to use indoors on rainy days through Internet research. The reason why I included Internet research is because some of the insects will be difficult to find in our region. Also, it was challenging to find common insects with every letter of the alphabet. An extinct species was even included for the letter X..Xerces Butterfly. So of course this is one that will need to be researched, but what a great way to teach kids about endangered and extinct species!
After printing out the ABC Scavenger Hunt Pages, laminate for long term use. Have your child use a dry erase marker and circle each insect found during your hunt. This is a great long term project for any aged child and can be used at different times when you are in nature. There is space to include the names of other insects that may be discovered that aren't listed.
Another great way to extend this activity and to incorporate technology is to bring along a digital camera and have your child take photos of discoveries. The photos can be used to make an online slide show or printed out to create an insect book.
Not only will your little ones be exposed to a variety of insects, but this activity will help enforce letter identification and sounds. Have them think about other insects that might start with the letter sound. For example- (Bb is for beetle, bee, butterfly ) Older children can research and read more about the insects that interest them most.
Written by Jen
Love these ideas!
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