And it's no ordinary learning experience. Younger campers paint rocks to look like ladybugs and make insect jewelry out of pipe cleaners. Older campers make insect nets and use them each day to catch bugs that they'll later classify. The week is filled with science, math, art and writing activities geared around insects. If teachers can develop lesson plans around a subject that kids already like, it increases learning.
Bugs are a tool to get kids excited about science.
Sharon Singleton, a former preschool teacher who taught the youngest children at the camp, said that most children especially young children are not afraid of insects. They are later taught to be afraid by parents and teachers, she said. Kids are fascinated by insects. In her preschool class, she would often use insects as a launching point to other lessons. The questions enabled her to lead the discussion into a geography or social studies lesson.