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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove) |
Creepy Crawlies
Little Minds Want to Know
Adults may not be the biggest fans of bugs, but children love them.
One of the most popular books in my preschool class is Creepy Crawlies by John Stidworthy. Creepy Crawlies answers many questions kids have
about all sorts of . . . well, creepy crawlies. The book holds the
interest of very young toddlers who are just learning to love books to
school age children. The pages are informative and the illustrations are
pretty realistic, almost like looking at photographs. Creepy Crawlies
is illustrated by Michael Posen. It is a Dempsey Parr Book first
published in 2000.
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| Image Credit: Abundant Family Living (Tina Truelove) |
Children learn the answers to questions such as:
Which spiders make the biggest webs?
How many eyes does a spider have?
Which spiders are human killers?
Can spiders fly?
Where do the biggest scorpions live?
Why do ticks drink blood?
How can you tell a millipede from a centipede?
Why are some termites magnetic?
How do ants know each other?
Why are bees hairy?
How many kinds of wasps are there?
What is the biggest dragonfly?
How do cicadas sing?
Which bugs stink?
Do grasshoppers have ears?
Which flies are helpful to police?
Which beetles shoot their enemies?
How are the colors of butterflies made?
Which worm sucks blood?
How do snails make shells?
Creepy Crawlies chapters include:
Spiders
Scorpions, Ticks, Mites, and Millipedes
Termites
Ants
Bees and Wasps
Dragonflies, Mantids, and Stick Insects
Bugs
Locusts and Grasshoppers
Fleas and Lice
Flies
Beetles
Butterflies and Moths
Worms
Slugs and Snails
Creepy Crawlies is also great for young children because you don’t necessarily need to read the book from cover to cover. Many children will want to read it all because it is full of information and colorful pictures, but if time is limited or a child is interested in a particular bug, you can choose to read only certain pages or chapters.
Who knows? You might even develop a surprising interest in a bug or two . . . or maybe not.
Which spiders make the biggest webs?
How many eyes does a spider have?
Which spiders are human killers?
Can spiders fly?
Where do the biggest scorpions live?
Why do ticks drink blood?
How can you tell a millipede from a centipede?
Why are some termites magnetic?
How do ants know each other?
Why are bees hairy?
How many kinds of wasps are there?
What is the biggest dragonfly?
How do cicadas sing?
Which bugs stink?
Do grasshoppers have ears?
Which flies are helpful to police?
Which beetles shoot their enemies?
How are the colors of butterflies made?
Which worm sucks blood?
How do snails make shells?
Creepy Crawlies chapters include:
Spiders
Scorpions, Ticks, Mites, and Millipedes
Termites
Ants
Bees and Wasps
Dragonflies, Mantids, and Stick Insects
Bugs
Locusts and Grasshoppers
Fleas and Lice
Flies
Beetles
Butterflies and Moths
Worms
Slugs and Snails
Creepy Crawlies is also great for young children because you don’t necessarily need to read the book from cover to cover. Many children will want to read it all because it is full of information and colorful pictures, but if time is limited or a child is interested in a particular bug, you can choose to read only certain pages or chapters.
Who knows? You might even develop a surprising interest in a bug or two . . . or maybe not.
Supplemental Activities and Resources
Make a Worm Hotel: Mix alternating layers of sand and potting soil into a large glass jar, like a Mason canning jar. Put in 3 or 4
healthy earthworms. Add enough water for moisture but don’t flood the
contents. Earthworms prefer the dark, so cover the jar with dark construction paper or tightly woven cloth. Secure the paper with a
rubber band or yarn, but do not seal the jar with a lid. If you do, the
worms will suffocate. After a few days, take a look. If the worms have
been busy, as they should be, the layers of sand and soil will be all
mixed up.
Plaster of Paris Beetles: You can purchase Plaster of Paris here and at most craft stores. Mix it up according to the directions and pour the mixture into a plastic spoon. Rub petroleum jelly on the spoon first. It will make it easier to remove the hardened plaster later. Allow the mixture to dry for 24 hours. Then, slide the plaster from the spoon. It should resemble a beetle when turned with the rounded side up. Show the children photographs of beetles and supply them with paints and brushes. Instruct the children to paint their own beetle.
Create a Bug: Supply the children with paper plates, toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes, construction paper, beads, beans, pom-poms, glue, and anything else you want to add. Instruct the children to create their own bug. Let them create!
Plaster of Paris Beetles: You can purchase Plaster of Paris here and at most craft stores. Mix it up according to the directions and pour the mixture into a plastic spoon. Rub petroleum jelly on the spoon first. It will make it easier to remove the hardened plaster later. Allow the mixture to dry for 24 hours. Then, slide the plaster from the spoon. It should resemble a beetle when turned with the rounded side up. Show the children photographs of beetles and supply them with paints and brushes. Instruct the children to paint their own beetle.
Create a Bug: Supply the children with paper plates, toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes, construction paper, beads, beans, pom-poms, glue, and anything else you want to add. Instruct the children to create their own bug. Let them create!
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| Creepy Crawlies: Questions and Answers About Bugs |
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