Toddler Fun, Week 11: Letter I, Number 1, Green and Insects

So, insects aren't my thing.  But, God made me a boy-mom, and so bugs are part of my life.  So this week is about insects!  I hope you enjoy it!

Week 11

Letter: I

Number: 1

Color: Green

Animal: Insects

Activities

1. Trip to the Zoo

 Our Jacksonville Zoo has a beautiful Butterfly Hollow.  It's a separate ticket, so we don't always do it, but we went with some of our missionary friends.  They had butterflies, and to our great joy, chrysalises too!  I recently backed up my pictures, but somehow missed those, so I don't have the those, but we had a wonderful time!

Aren't butterflies just stupendous!? 

2. Wild Kratts Creature Powers

We watched Wild Kratts Voyage of the Butterflier, and I'd already made Aidan some DIY Wild Kratts creature discs, so we were all set!  The distance monarch butterfly makes, would be the equivalent of a human trecking around the world... TWICE!  Without any assistance.  So, we pretended to fly, and crawl out of our chrysalis, etc.  So much fun!

3. We're Going on a Bug Hunt

 Lucky for us, we love in Florida, where there are bugs all year round!  So, it's November, and yet there are bugs everywhere!  So, we went to the back yard, and searched all over for insects!  (The way Aidan says it though, is "incest", which is just hilarious!)
We found a beetle, which I masterfully caught and put in a jar.  Aidan liked looking at him, we talked about whether or not he could fly, and tried to count his (fast) legs)

After that, Aidan collected grass, leaves and a stick, so make the beetle feel at home. :) We let him watch him for a while, and then let the bug go free, or as the the Wild Kratts would say, "Living free, and in the wild!"

Snacks

1. Dirt

Every kid needs to experience "dirt".  For this snack I bought pre-made chocolate pudding cups (I know, I know.  Don't judge.), oreos and gummy worms.  I crushed up the oreos and put them on the pudding, and then stuck the gummy worms in it.  Pure sugar high.

2. Butterfly Sandwich

For this snack, I used a butterfly sandwich cutter, raspberries, grapes and veggie straws. :)

3. Ladybug Strawberries

For this snack, I cut the green off of strawberries, then cut them to make "wings".  A chocolate chip head, I melted chocolate, and "dripped" it into polka dots, and of course kiwi "grass".

4. Butterfly Life Cycle

This one was my favorite!  We watched Wild Kratts Voyage of the Butterflier, and ate this tasty treat.  I used grapes for the caterpillar (and candy eyes), for the chrysalis I used part of the sandwich, the crust for a branch, and kiwi and mango.  For the butterfly sandwich, I used a smaller butterfly cookie cutter and veggie straws.  And mango arrows. :)

5. Dragonfly (or butterfly) snacks

These are simply veggie straws, pretzels and peanut butter.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Crafts

1. I is for Inchworm

Look at that face!! OMG!  Okay, so for this addition to our "letter book", I cut out a brown uppercase "I", which he glued on.  Then, I cut out yellow and green circles.  Aidan had to name the colors, then he got to choose which one he wanted to start with.  He chose green.  Then I gave him yellow.  I explained to him that we were making a pattern; green, yellow, green, yellow... So, I asked him which color was coming next, and he said, "green"!  And so on, and so forth.  AB patterning for the win!

Books and Media

We Read:

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

So, this is a classic.  Clearly.  Hungry caterpillar, he eats everything, and becomes a butterfly.  Best book ever. :)

2. What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson

One of our friends sent us this from the UK.  There's an American version but I feel like that's taking away an opportunity to explain how dialects are different.  It's about a ladybird (ladybug) who overhears to thieves' plan to steal the fine prized cow.

3. Peep Inside Night-Time by Ann Melbourne

Aidan's grandparents got him this sweet bedtime book! It features a few of the bugs of the night, and the flaps are always fun to open for Aidan. :)

What We Watched:

1. Wild Kratts, Season 1 Episode 9, Voyage of the Butterfly - you can find this on iTunes, or if you have AmazonPrime, I believe it's on there.  It's really amazing what butterflies accomplish!

2. Wild Kratts, Season 1 Episode 5, Mystery of the Squirmy Worm - I admit, I did not realize how amazing worms are!  Also, they're not insects.  But, that's irrelevant if you're 2.  (Also, for the record, inchworms are, they're actually type of caterpillar.)

3. Beat Bugs - a new Netflix original show.  It uses Beatles songs, and builds the episode around that.  It's a super-cute show, and hearing Aidan sing along with "Lucy in the Skies With Diamonds" is priceless!