It’s a bug’s house!

Wed., June 21, 2006

Donna Erickson King Features Syndicate

I don’t know what it is about kids and bugs, but kids are crazy about them. Maybe it’s because they can do some really cool stuff. Some bugs can lift things many times heavier than they are, they can tunnel through the earth, and some can even fly.

Get started with your observations by making a bug house and look closely at the critters that stop by. Then make a few garden critters of your own.

Bug House

Starting from its base, draw a big 2-inch capital letter “I” in the middle of the front of a clean 1/2 -gallon paper milk carton. Cut along the letter with scissors to create two doors that open wide. On one side of the carton, cut out a large window and attach a piece of old screen. Tell your child that screens keep the bugs out of our homes, but on this bug house, the screens keep out the people!

Decorate the carton with markers and stickers. Have an open-door policy, so bugs can come and go. Attract them with breadcrumbs and fruit.

Caterpillar

Separate a regular-size plastic Easter egg into 2 halves. Draw features for a face on the outside rounded portion of one of the halves with paint pens. Bend two short pipe cleaners into antennae shapes and glue on top.

For an expandable body, cut and fold a 1-inch-by-14-inch strip of poster board into 1-inch accordion folds. Glue one end to the inside of the plastic egghead and the other end into the other half to complete the caterpillar body. Glue small pieces of black pipe cleaners under the egg halves and between the folds of the strip for legs.

Lady Bug

Paint a walnut half red. Add spots and other details with a black paint pen.

Garden Snail

Glue a pompom to the opening of a snail shell for a head. Bend and glue two thin pieces of wire for tentacles.

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