Sunday night while I should have been sleeping I got on the net and read the sections from the Handbook of Nature Study Book about ants. You know there's a lot to notice about those tiny things!!!
With my questions in mind I prepared Big Sister for our time. We got a basket and filled it with a magnifying glass, a jar (she wanted to collect some ants to keep), a small shovel, a napkin to cover the jar and a rubber band to close it up with.
She was quite excited to be on this little excursion!! (She is definitely the more adventurous of the bunch!) We marched right over to an ant hill (there's plenty to choose from in our yard!) and began to investigate.
With the information from my previous night's reading in my head I tried my best to answer her questions. After checking out the little creatures with the magnifying glass for a while we decided that it was time to collect some and take them inside. That was interesting!! Both Brother and I got bit a few times!!
With some ants succesfully dumped in our jar we took them inside to watch as we worked on our Nature Journal page. She did a great job!! While working on her page she was eating strawberries and decided that it would be a good idea to share some with her ants. Plop! In they went!
Those poor little ants are still in hiding though! I think that their sudden displacement shook them up quite a bit!
Later this week we are scheduling a nature walk to see what we can hear. Outdoor Challenge #2 is "Using Your Words." Check back later to find out what that means!! Oh! I also plan to try to do something with beans!!
Wrap the jar in dark paper for a day or so and then check to see if the ants have formed tunnels closer to the edge where you can see.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are ALL having fun and learning too.