Activity Instructions

Ages 0 – 2

Preparation:

Print out the Invertebrate Flashcards.
Collect a range of natural materials that you might find in the garden, such as fallen leaves, sticks, bark and small rocks. Create a display of your natural materials in a place where children can gather around. This could be inside or outside.

Step 1. Gather children in a group around your display of natural materials. Explain to children that they should avoid touching the materials.

Take a moment to talk about the natural materials, including what they are and where you might find them.

Step 2. Now explain to children that all these natural materials are things that bugs, slugs and other creepy crawlies might like to live in. Different bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies like living in different places - I wonder what these might be?

Present children with the flashcards. For each flashcard that you look at, invite children to suggest what they think it is and where it might live. You can use the text on the flashcards to guide your discussion.

Tip: As you discuss the invertebrates on the flashcards, talk to your children about being safe with bugs, including that some bugs – such as ants or spiders – can bite, and that many bugs are poisonous and shouldn’t be eaten. In addition, you can talk to children about how we should be careful when picking up bark or stones because there might be bugs hiding underneath. Always check with an adult before touching a bug!

Step 3. Now explain to children that there are plenty of bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in the yard at your centre. Tell your children that we can help the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies by making the yard a better place for them to live. We can do this by creating a bug house, leaving out some water for them, and staying away from them when we see them:

Build a bug house - Make transportable bug houses out of small cardboard boxes or milk cartons (for example: Build a bug house). Cut a small entrance into the box and place it in the garden, add a stick to the top to stop it from blowing away. Alternatively, take an old ceramic pot, turn it upside down and prop one side up with a rock to let the invertebrates in and out. You could decorate your bug houses and add some signage to explain what they are and to welcome the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies.
Something to drink - Even bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies need to drink. Avoid placing a dish of water in the zone as they may fall in and drown - instead, you could make sure you have areas in your yard that are watered regularly and where the leaf litter isn’t disturbed so that the leaf litter doesn’t dry out.

Provocations:

I wonder what bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies we have in our yard?
I wonder if we have any of the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies on the flashcards in our yard?
I wonder what the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in our yard eat?
I wonder what the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in our yard drink?
I wonder where the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in our yard live?
I wonder how we can be safe around bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies?

Possible lines of development:

Bugs inside – what can you see?
Other animals in the garden
Arrange an 'Insect Incursion' for your children
Read books about bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (or other insect books by Eric Carle), Superworm by Julia Donaldson, In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming, or I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges.

Ages 3 - 5

Preparation:

Print out the Invertebrate Flashcards.
Collect a range of natural materials that you might find in the garden, such as fallen leaves, sticks, bark and small rocks. Create a display of your natural materials in a place where children can gather around. This could be inside or outside.

Step 1. Gather children in a group around your display of natural materials. Explain to children that they should avoid touching the materials.

Take a moment to talk about the natural materials, including what they are and where you might find them - I wonder if we have any of these materials in the yard at our centre?

Step 2. Now explain to children that all these natural materials are things that bugs, slugs and other creepy crawlies might like to live in. Different bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies like living in different places - I wonder what these might be?

Present children with the flashcards. For each flashcard that you look at, invite children to suggest answers to the following:

I wonder what this animal is?
I wonder where this animal might live?
I wonder what you already know about this animal?

Use the text on the flashcards to guide your discussion and clarify understanding around bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies.

Tip: As you discuss the invertebrates on the flashcards, talk to your children about being safe with bugs, including that some bugs – such as ants or spiders – can bite, and that many bugs are poisonous and shouldn’t be eaten. In addition, you can talk to children about how we should be careful when picking up bark or stones because there might be bugs hiding underneath. Always check with an adult before touching a bug!

Step 3. Now explain to children that there are plenty of bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in the yard at your centre. Tell your children that we can help the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies by making the yard a better place for them to live. We can do this by creating a bug house, leaving out some water for them, and staying away from them when we see them:

Build a bug house - Make transportable invertebrate houses out of small cardboard boxes or milk cartons (for example: Build a bug house). Cut a small entrance into the box and place it in the garden, add a stick to the top to stop it from blowing away. Alternatively, take an old ceramic pot, turn it upside down and prop one side up with a rock to let the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in and out. Children can also take their houses home for their own yards.
Create a bug, slugs and creepy crawlies zone - Select an area in your yard that you can dedicate to invertebrates. This should be somewhere that doesn’t get disturbed too often (it might even be in the front yard or your centre or near the car park). Place some old logs in the zone, along with leaf litter and bark. Think about planting one or two native flowering plants to attract native invertebrate pollinators, like native bees or wasps. Avoid placing a dish of water in the zone as they may fall in and drown - instead, you could make sure your invertebrate zone is watered regularly and the leaf litter isn’t disturbed so that the leaf litter doesn’t dry out. You could add a little fence and a sign to inform people what you’re doing.
Create a bug, slugs and creepy crawlies zone in pots - If you can’t manage a zone in your yard, you could always create your invertebrate zone in a couple of pots, keeping them close together, sheltered and watered. Again, add a sign to let people know what you’re doing.

Provocations:

I wonder what bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies we have in our yard?
I wonder what the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in our yard eat?
I wonder where the bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies in our yard live?
I wonder if any other animals eat the bugs that live in our yard?
I wonder what the biggest bug, slug or creepy crawly in our yard is?
I wonder what the smallest bug, slug or creepy crawly in our yard is?
I wonder how we can make our yard a better place for bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies to live in?

Possible lines of development:

Other animals in the yard and where they live
Looking after other animals in the garden e.g. build a possum box, birdbaths, logs and stones for bugs and small animals
Arrange an 'Insect Incursion' for your children
Read books about bugs, slugs and creepy crawlies, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (or other insect books by Eric Carle), Superworm by Julia Donaldson or In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming, or I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges.

Evaluation

Complete an analysis of learning, listing evidence about:

Belonging	Finding something of interest
Communication	Expressing an idea or feeling
Exploration	Engaging with challenge and persisting when difficulty arises
Well being	Being involved

Embedding into daily practice

Set up a schedule to check invertebrate habitat sites, including watering and removing litter but remembering not to disturb habitat sites too much
Create a culture where you are caretakers of the animals and plants in your yard
Grow flowers containing nectar. Some birds, mammals and bugs need nectar for food
Provide hollows, rocks, logs and leaf litter, which are used by many little and large animals for shelter and nesting
Don’t pour chemicals down the drain - these can hurt little animals in your local creek.

Create a Habitat for Bugs and Slugs

Summary

Activity Guides and Printables

Activity Details

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required