When my kids forget to do what I’ve told them repeatedly or disobey me about something small, I don’t get angry. They get bugs! I’m not joking. It really works. Our yard gets infested with pill bugs and so my daughter gets to collect them for a punishment. She can hunt anywhere for bugs in our yard to find a certain amount and she always tries to do it as fast as she can. This helps control the bug population and helps her remember to do what is right.

This bug search experiment helped show her where she can find the most bugs.

How to do the Bug Search Experiment

You’ll need a plastic bottle cut in half for this experiment. I cut 3 bottles so that each of my children could get their own soil. I gave them the top half and left the cap on so the dirt didn’t fall through.

After they collected their dirt, I took of the lid and put the top half of their bottles in the bottom half with the lid side down. Then I put them on a tray so if they tipped the dirt wouldn’t get all over the counter.

We marked them to remember who’s was who’s and wrote down our hypothesis on our science experiment worksheet. I asked my kids where they got their dirt from and Audrey said by the strawberries, while my other two children got their dirt from the chicken coop (I made them wash their hands really well).

I balanced a flashlight on top of their dirt to represent the sun. If you have a lamp that bends and can be moved to point down, that would be a lot better light source. We left our light on for two hours and then checked the bottom of the bottles.

There were two bugs in the bottom of Audrey’s bottle, but no bugs in the other two.

If you don’t find any bugs in your bottles you can have your children try another location. Give them a hint to where they might find dirt that has lots of bugs in it.

Lessons Learned from this Experiment

This experiment shows that most bugs that live in dirt don’t like light or heat so they dig down lower to get away from it and fall into the bottom of the bottle. It also shows what kind of soil bugs like. The soil that was from the chicken coop was dryer and lighter than the soil next to the strawberries. My children made the observation that maybe the chickens had eaten a lot of the bugs so there wasn’t any left in their soil. So they decided that bugs like wet, cool, and chicken-free dirt. Now they know where to search for bugs if we give them the task for forgetting to feed the dog in the morning!

Would your child like this experiment? What kind of observations did they make?

You might like to use our Free Insect Preschool Printables with this experiment!

Find even more Earth Day Activities here:

Easy Earth Day Sensory Play (Natural Beach Living)

Earth Day Coffee Filter Suncatcher Craft for Kids (A Little Pinch of Perfect)

Ways to Recyle Activities for Kids Play Ideas (Little Bins for Little Hands)

Water Filtration Experiment (Teach Beside Me)

The post Earth Day Science: Bug Search Experiment first appeared on True Aim.

Here are some free preschool printables you can use to help children learn with and about different types of bugs.

My daughters are naturally spooked by creepy crawly’s, but it has really helped to read and study the friendly and dangerous bugs. They see my reaction to bugs and it isn’t always the best. Spiders are my weakness. I’d rather run away than be brave and kill them.

I’ve seen my children’s reaction to spiders and it is exactly like mine, so I made a point to try and handle myself in a calm manner and it has really helped.

Emma is the most sensitive to bugs and so we started doing these bug printables as part of her homeschooling lessons.

Counting bugs, reading books with bugs in them, and learning about bugs has really helped her. She especially liked the early reader and finished reading it all by herself pretty quickly.

Of course the most important thing is to be around bugs. Having bees has helped a little with that, but we’ll have to explore under rocks and in the dirt to get up close and personal.

Free Bug Preschool Printables

This mini pack includes 15 pages of different activities:

• Alphabet Maze
• Bug Patterns
• Clip Counting Cards 1-12
• Flash Cards
• Handwriting
• Phonics Practice
• Early Reader

Click here to download the insect printables

Great Books About Insects

Don’t forget to pair this mini lesson with some awesome books about bugs and other creepy crawly creatures.

1. Snakes Discovery – Snakes are another type of animal that children are naturally afraid of. That is a good thing, but you want kids to know how to handle them and the different types. This book is internet linked with websites on pages for more information.

2. Big Book of Big Bugs – With 4 giant fold out pages, this book is a children’s favorite. It makes bugs larger than life!

3. 1001 Bugs to Spot Sticker Book – Learn the names and habitats of bugs with this fun sticker book that turns into a great seek and find after you’re done placing all the beautiful stickers.

4. Bugs Beginner – This accelerated reader is the perfect introduction to more specific facts about the different kinds of bugs in the world. It is internet referenced for more bug exploration after you’re finished reading.

5. Caterpillars and Butterflies – This beginner book is filled with the beautiful life of the butterfly and has internet references in the back of the book.

6. Pocket Book of Reptiles – A kids reference book of more than 100 different reptiles. Take it with you to the park or zoo and have your own scavenger hunt.

7. Bees and Wasps – What is the difference? Learn that and more about the amazing life of these insects.

8. Poisonous Animals – This beginner is just as interesting for adults as it is for children.

I hope you enjoy this mini unit on bugs with your preschooler!

Thanks for joining me for this month’s Story Corner! Make sure you check out the books and activities that my co-hosts are sharing today as well:

Dusty at To the Moon and Back

Karyn at Teach Beside Me

The post Free Preschool Printables: Insect Mini Pack first appeared on True Aim.