Jessica Badeaux

Fun Activities with Single Dads and Their Kids Bug Collecting with Kids Kids like things that might gross adults out and catching and collecting bugs is one of them. However, if a dad can get past the ick factor, this can be a wonderful activity to do with the kids no matter the weather outside. Yes, no matter the weather. Rain is prime time for some creepy crawlies to come out, so be prepared for anything. If your kids already pick up anything that moves, you’ve got it easy with this activity. For those that might be a bit more squeamish at the thought of touching something that crawls, it’s still possible to collect bugs without ever having to touch one. First of all, why is this a great activity? Entomology, the study of insects, is a fantastic way to get kids more involved in science and the world around them. Did you know that there are still insects in the world that haven’t even been found or documented? Insects are easy to find and many of them are easy to catch too. Bug catching doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment and it gets kids out of the house and outside in the world. They can be scientists and observe and learn from each insect they catch. This encourages their curiosity and wonder, something we could all use more of. There are plenty of bug books and insect guides available to help your kids identify what they’ve found. Consulting the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders is as simple as using a dictionary and with it’s color photos it makes it easy to locate the insect your child has found. National Geographic Kids also has an Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Insects book that is all about bug hunting in your backyard. There are even books that are specific to geographic areas as some insects are only found in one area. There are also insect identification posters and cards that provide information on how to quickly identify bugs. To catch the bugs you and your kids should decide what type of insects you are looking for. If you’d like to catch ones that are crawling around in the dirt, grass, or on trees, a simple container to place them in will do. There are special clear containers that feature a magnifying lens on the top so that you can get a better view of the insect inside the jar. If you or your kids shudder at the idea of touching the bugs, you can either pick up whatever they are crawling on and place that inside the container, use a wooden spoon for the bug to crawl onto, a pair of tweezers to pick up a bug carefully, or grab a pair of gloves to use when handling them. Catching bugs can be quite a workout for you and your kids too. If your kids are quick, adventurous, and like a challenge, they might want to catch flying insects, like butterflies and dragonflies, or those that are great at jumping, like grasshoppers. For this you should consider picking up a funnel net or butterfly net to catch them. If they’d like to collect bugs in water an aquatic net works quite well. You will need to be sure the collecting jars are nearby and big enough to hold larger insects so that you can quickly transfer the insect from the net and into the jar. Some great places for catching bugs near your home are in the yard, near plants, near bright lights at night, under logs and stones, and under soil and dirt too. Remove some bark from a tree and see what’s underneath. Looking for bugs during different times of the day is important as well. Some bugs only come out in the cool morning light, some are night crawlers, and others are busy all day. Bugs can vary with the seasons, as well as the weather. Going outside during or right after a rain can be a great time to pick up worms that have crawled out of their homes under the earth. Give your kids an insect journal to document their findings in. Encourage them to draw the insects as they see them. They can look at the bugs up close with a magnifying glass. They can label their body parts and use colored pencils to create a likeness of the insect. Be sure they label the insect by their name after looking them up in a guidebook. Have them notate the season and weather, where they found the bug, and any other interesting things they notice. Ask them about the bug and what it likes to eat. Let them teach you everything they have learned about their catch. If the bugs caught are going to be released back into the wild, be sure to give the insect some air holes in it’s jar. And if you are keeping it in the jar for more than a few hours, add some soil or grass in there as well. Be sure the kids place it back outside near where they found it so that it can find his way home. If your kids would like to collect the bugs, meaning they would like to keep them after they have died, so that they can study them more closely or frame a collection of them, there are some additional items you will need. Small sealable plastic bags are useful to place the bugs inside of and then place in the freezer to preserve them before pinning them. Pins specifically for use with insects are available and there are mounting display cases to show off insects of all different sizes. You can even buy an insect collecting and mounting kit complete with net, jars, pins, and cases all neatly packaged together. For pinning insects with large wings, like butterflies, moths, and wasps, you will also need an insect spreading board. Before heading outside to catch bugs, make sure to look through your insect guide with your kids. You want to be sure they can identify the insects that can sting or bite them so they know what to watch out for. Catching bugs can be quite fun and it’s interesting to see all the different and beautiful types of insects there are in the world. Reading about the insects together with your children is educational and can lead to a lifelong love of learning and curiosity.