Minibeast Hunt
What you need
- a clear plastic tub to look into
- a sheet of paper and a crayon
How to do it
- Go out to the garden or the park and gently lift a log, a flowerpot or a big leaf together to look underneath.
- When you find a minibeast, look closely: how many legs? Is it fast or slow?
- Let a woodlouse or a beetle walk into the tub for a closer look, then put it back where you found it.
- Count how many different minibeasts you found, and draw them on the paper.
Why it matters
Looking closely at something small and alive gives them lots to notice and lots to ask, and putting it back is part of looking after it.
What they're learning
- Looking closely
- Legs, shell, wings: the small details.
- Counting
- Legs on a beetle, minibeasts under a log.
- Gentle hands
- Letting a minibeast walk, never squeezing it.
What to look for
Notice them asking a question about a minibeast, like where it lives or what it eats.
A tip
Look with eyes and gentle hands only, leave bees, wasps and anything that stings alone, and wash hands afterwards.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: look under one log or flowerpot together and talk about what you see
Harder: keep a tally with a crayon mark on the paper for each minibeast
