The Homestyle

Welcome back to another week of June’s Bug Month here at The HomeStyle’s Summer Read-Aloud Book Club. Are you enjoying all the insect-themed books this month?? So far, Will’s favorite has been the Fly Guy series. Ryah and Naomi seem to prefer any book that has a butterfly theme.

This week we are going to do some activities focused on learning more about bugs and insects. Please don’t feel as though you should tackle every idea on this list. These are simply meant to give you a variety of activities to choose from. I’d recommend picking 2-3 that seem to suit your children’s interests and abilities. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

• As I mentioned at the end of May, having a family Ant Farm or Butterfly Garden can be an amazing way to learn how insects really live and work. We also had the kids fill out little journals, drawing and writing what they saw happening in the miniature habitat each day. It was truly amazing!

• Learn about how to identify different bugs and insects by learning their unique characteristics (such as number of legs and body segments). The San Diego Zoo has a good page with information on all different kinds of insects. You can learn more here.

• Check to see if your local museum has any insect-related exhibits that you can visit.

• Go on a nature walk and see how many bugs you can find. Bring along your camera or a sketch pad to record all the creatures you encounter. If you don’t know what a particular type of beetle is, try to research its name when you get home.

• Learn some interesting bug facts like these here or these over here.

• Visit a beekeeper and learn about bee life. Taste some honey and appreciate how much work the bees did to make it for you!

And if you live in Colorado, I’d love to invite you to join us for another Book Club outing. This time we will be going to the Denver Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday, June 23. If you’ve never visited the Butterfly Pavilion before, you are in for a huge treat! There is so much more than just butterflies: there is a spider room (where kids who hold Rosie the Tarantula get a special sticker proclaiming their bravery), a room with sea stars, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs, outdoor gardens for exploring and more!

I’d like to plan to meet in front of the Pavilion at about 10:30. Regular admission is $8.50 for adults and $5.50 for kids ages 2-12. (Kids under 2 are free.) However, if we have at least 10 people coming we can register for a group discount of $2 per person. If you plan on coming, please leave a comment saying so here. If it looks like we will have more than 10 people I will register for the group discount.

I hope to see you there!