Today's Enrichment Idea

Comes From

Author/Illustrator Neecy Twinem

who is coming to Omaha this week to celebrate Earth Day

and do several garden art workshops with

kids in classrooms and after-school settings.

 

She has graciously agreed to let

our sister site,

www.KidsGardenClub.org,

use her artwork for the homepage.

 

 

 

 

Learn more about this talented author/illustrator

from Albuquerque, N.M., and order her books

by visiting www.NeecyTwinem.com

 

 

 

Squiggly Wigglies

 

Today's Snack: Make an edible garden creature! Line up green or purple grapes and stick the two points of a broken toothpick into the first one as "antennae." Just be sure to remove the antennae before you eat! Or you can make a spider with a Double Stuff Oreo cookie as the body and four stick pretzels, dipped in melted chocolate chips and dried, broken in half and stuck in the cookie as legs. For a frog, use a green grape stacked on top of a peeled kiwi with a half-toothpick, with blueberries for eyes and a little dot of cream cheese as the eyeballs, and bent, dry Chinese noodles stuck in the kiwi "body" as arms and legs. Golden and regular raisins can be stuck together for a honeybee. Have fun, but remember: don't eat REAL bugs, and don't eat the toothpicks if you use them!

 

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Supplies:

Magnifying glass

Colored pom-poms, all sizes | pipe cleaners, all colors

Googly eyes, small to very small | glue (tacky, or low-heat hot glue)

Safety scissors | sticks or small dowels | string or thread

 

 

First, go on a "bug hunt." See how many different insects you can spot. Look in different habitats - on leaves, under leaves, in old wood, in tall grass, under rocks, in water, and so forth.

 

Try to find bugs that move in different ways - the legs of a spider, the wings of a butterfly, the wriggling motion of a worm or caterpillar. Talk about these ways of moving and how important they may be to the creature's survival.

 

Talk about the colors of the bugs you find, too. Why does it make sense for a pillbug (also called a "sowbug") to be plain and gray? (it blends in with the dirt) Why would a ladybug be so boldly colorful, with the red shell and black dots? (to warn predators that the ladybugs tastes awful, which she does) Talk about "camouflage" and how important it is to bug survival.

 

Let each child take a good look at bugs not known to be possibly hurtful (this rules out bees and wasps!) with the magnifying glass.

 

When you get back, it's time to make your own Squiggly Wiggly!

 

Lay out the supplies and encourage each child to use his or her imagination to create a creature that they might find in a garden, or one of the ones they just observed.

 

They can make it by cutting, gluing, bending and assembling a creature to take home. They can use all combinations of supplies to make an existing creature, or one of their very own invention.

 

Remind them of details such as antennae. If they'd rather make a frog or a lizard, that's fine, too. If you offer that possibility, just make sure you have enough green pom-poms and pipe cleaners!

 

When finished, tie a string or thread to the creature and to a stick or small dowel.

 

Then play some music and have a SQUIGGLY WIGGLY PARADE!!!