Be sure to scroll all the way down to enter the Ladybug Land Giveaway!
We had such an awesome day today. Our ladybugs had finally arrived in the mail and we had a friend over for dinner that enjoyed releasing the ladybugs with us. We first read a book about ladybugs from one of our science reader sets. All three kids had great questions and were so interested in the details!
Did you know a ladybug's wings are yellow before they get hard and turn red? And their dots are the equivalent of freckles on a person. Each lady bug is different.
We talked about what ladybugs eat (aphids) and how that is good for our garden because the aphids eat the leaves and plants that we want to eat. We happen to have a few extra aphids hanging out in our greenhouse on the lettuce right now so we took our bug jars and captured a few.
Then the ladybugs came out to play. They can live in your refrigerator for up to 3 months because they can hibernate and live off their body fat. We decided to dump out about half of the bag and save the other half for our Little Learners - Summer Bugs activity day with our home school group
LEARN in August.
Just a quick tip - if your spritz the ladybugs with a 50/50 water/soda mix it creates a temporary "glue" that makes them unable to fly for a few days. This way we were able to observe them and then transfer them to the garden where they will make their home instead of flying off right away and leaving our cute little space.
I love that DH was able to join us. It's fun to have him participate in the fun activities that we do.
EMan was constantly brushing ladybugs off his neck and arms. They were so "tickly" to him and he kept squirming. So cute!
Miss Katrina was so nice to take photos for us (she's generally the one behind the camera if I'm in the photograph). I used the camera though for a few shots to let her get in on the action. I love the sleeping LittleMiss in the ergo :)
We had a fantastic time learning about and observing our ladybugs. It was definitely worth the investment and I'll most likely repeat this activity every year. It's a great science activity and then when we're done they're great for our garden!
Now for the fun stuff! I have one
Ladybug Land to give away. It comes with an order form to order your very own ladybugs! Just leave a blog post letting me know who you'd use it with and why you'd be excited to use it. Then click the enter button below. You can also like us and share about Little Adventures Preschool on Facebook. Good luck!
You know who I would use mine with :) Wish I could have been there to play with you guys.
ReplyDeleteI would use The Ladybug Land with Chayton (2.5yrs) & Gabriella (18 months). We started your Tot School Summer Packets yesterday and the more hands on activities they have to look forward to the better! We cleaned out a garden plot this weekend and are going to do your Seeds, Fruits and Veggies, and Weather Packets.
ReplyDeleteI would use mine with my preschool class- you have such cute ideas. I love seeing what you do for themes. This is an idea I would use and implement in my class.
ReplyDeleteMy kids would absolutely LOVE this, especially my daughter. She is very interested in science and learning about animals. So this hands-on experience will be very special for her.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the giveaway.
(Tanya Rubezhov)
I babysit my grandkids and would use it with them! It looks like a lot of fun and learning!
ReplyDeleteDebbie, you're the winner! Check your email (and spam folder) for an email from me :)
DeleteI use your packets for the two girls I keep that are almost 2 years old.
ReplyDelete