Bug Hotel

What you need

• a small box with one side cut away by you, or a shoe box on its side
• sticks, dry leaves, bark and pine cones from the garden
• a few cardboard tubes
• a basket for collecting

How to do it

1. Lay the box on its side somewhere sheltered in the garden, under a hedge or behind a pot, and talk about which minibeasts might want a home there.
2. Take the basket round the garden and let your child choose what to collect: sticks, leaves, bark, pine cones.
3. Pack the box together. Tubes go in first, side by side, then sticks and bark pushed into the gaps, with leaves tucked in last.
4. Step back, keep still, and come back to check the hotel in a few days to see if anyone has moved in.

Why it matters

Every stick and pine cone in the hotel is something they chose, and packing it in tightly enough to stay put takes careful hands. Coming back to look gives the garden a reason to be checked on.

What they're learning

Packing tightly

Pushing sticks into gaps so nothing falls out.

Choosing materials

Deciding what a woodlouse might want in its room.

Minibeast homes

Damp, shady and tucked away.

What to look for

Watch for them testing a stick in a gap, pulling it out and trying a different one.

A tip

Bark and leaves can hide prickles, so check each basketful before it goes in, and wash hands once the hotel is built.

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