Young Black Swallowtail caterpiller on parsley Do your children love bugs and critters they find in nature? A favorite nature project with kids is to raise a caterpillar to see what kind of butterfly it would turn into. If your child finds a caterpillar outdoors pay close attention to what kind of leaves it is eating. Get a large jar and put the caterpillar in it along with a branch of whatever it was eating when you found it. Replace the leaves daily and
When these twin flowers drop off, a little pot with two tops is left behind where the seeds develop. I must confess… I stole this idea along with the title from the National Wildlife Federation blog, but it was way too good not to share it with my readers. Here is their post with some great ideas for making your own family’s field guide: http://www.nwf.org/en/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Outdoors/Archives/2010/Field-Guide-Backyard.aspx If you have a digital camera, an online computer, and a printer
Make a flowerpot tower with your children. For fun in the flower garden or yard, make a tipsy flowerpot tower with your children. If you have more than one child, you could assign flower pots as appropriate. Though I haven’t made one yet, I’m eager to try it. Jean Fischer brought this to my attention today via. Facebook. The picture is of the tipsy flowerpot tower she made. Jean offered this website for directions on how to build the tipsy flowerpot
This is probably an Agapostemon splendens, at least a green "sweat" bee, or Halictid bee. Photo copyright 2011 by David L. Green. How do you react when you think of bees? Do you shiver at the thought of getting stung or are you thankful to them for their services in pollinating our food supply? Because of the Colony Collapse Disorder that has increased the world’s awareness of “disappearing” honeybees, the general public has become somewhat more aware of our dependence on
