Our intrepid bunch have been digging into every nook and cranny of the forest this week, seeking out bugs, grubs and mini beasts to investigate in detail. Regular hunts for oversized, brightly coloured toy insects and arachnids gave the children a chance to practice observation skills, both in seeking them out and matching them to the pictures of all the bugs that had been scattered around camp that morning by educators. The team of budding entomologists used their mathematical brains to count their bounty all the way up to 14, then continued this skill in counting out legs to spot the spiders and identify the insects. We analysed the differences between the specimens by considering lots of questions, for example: Does it have wings? Is its body soft or hard? Where might it live? As the week went on, these investigative skills came in handy as we turned over logs and looked under leaves for real bugs. The real deal are a lot trickier to spot, so we had to bring out the specialist tools - magnifying glasses and "bugnoculars" - to aid in the study!
In order to really examine the life of these many mini species first hand, we also scaled up our explorations and children tried to "be the bug" by climbing onto a variety of web-like climbing constructions that explored both vertical and horizontal planes, testing their strength and creating a workout for all four limbs. We also talked about other small creatures we might encounter using reference books and stories, looking at photographs of toads and moths and talking about the life cycle of a frog. We hope the kids aren't too bugged out by now, but we have a feeling they enjoyed their research as the magnifying glasses were never left unattended!
Have an extraordinary weekend, one and all (including our mini, beastly, buzzing, slimy and wriggly new pals)!
Little Forest Folk
Wimbledon Village