Talking to children about insects is a fun activity in the summer when there are so many around!

Some easy facts for you to know:

• There are more kinds of insects than any other kind of animal.
• They live all over the world, even in ice and snow.
• They never have more than 3 pairs of legs. If it has more, it’s not an insect!
• All insects come from eggs.

Outside Activity: To learn more about insects, go on a hunt outside. Collect the insects you find in a jar and then examine them with a magnifying glass.

Recipe: Make a snack of “ants on a log.” Spread peanut butter on a stick of celery and then add raisin on the top.

Read: Children up to age seven will enjoy “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle. Look for it in the library.

Inside activities:

• Make a caterpillar from a cardboard egg carton cut in half lengthwise. Turn each section upside down to paint with water-based paint. Use pipe cleaners to make the antennae. Draw or glue eyes and a mouth.
• Make a butterfly by putting small pieces of colored tissue paper in a clear sandwich bag. Seal the bag. Squeeze the bag in half with the sealed edge at the top. Twist a tie around the middle and adjust the end of the twist tie to make antennae.