Garden Club! Bugs! & Biodiversity

week 4 of 8 full of lessons and activities for children (or adults)

This week in garden club we’re talking about bugs! Most adults loathe bugs, and there are certainly plenty that I curse (ahem, ticks!), but this is my favorite topic with the kids.

One of the most rewarding moments I’ve had in teaching kids to grow food was watching a child hold a worm in glee who had weeks earlier shrieked in fear over being in the near vicinity of one.

Bugs get a bad rep, but they’re critical to our food system. Plus, they’re fun! So I will always advocate for bug-themed lessons!

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Week 4 - Bugs & Biodiversity

get the full lesson here! It’s free - no download required but fully printable :)

Learning Objectives:

• Good & Bad Bugs: Students will learn about good and bad bugs in the garden.

• Pollination: Students will learn about pollination and the types of animals and bugs that pollinate our plants.

• Biodiversity: Students will learn about biodiversity and its importance in the garden.

Mindful Movement

I find a silly song or dance that directs movement to be as good as anything to introduce the topic and get the kids to pay attention. With everyone in a circle, guide them through this exercise:

Today we’re going to pretend to be different bugs!

Everyone buzzzzzz like a bee. Fly around!

Buzz, buzz, buzz

Now, pretend to be grasshoppers and hop from leaf from leaf.

Hop, hop, hop

Let’s be worms, wriggling in the soil.

Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle

We’re all butterflies with colorful wings, flapping in the sun.

Flap, flit, flap

Now we’re caterpillars, inching along slowly.

arching & stretching, arching & stretching

kids filling milk cartons with organic matter to create bug hotels

our biodiversity painting - each kid got a different color of finger paint. the result was a messy but colorful painting!