On our way home from dropping child 3 to school we met six little black, hairy caterpillars hurriedly crawling across the path from the overgrown field into the hedgerows. Child 4 was more than happy to watch as I picked one up and then let it crawl across my palm and over my fingers, he wasn't so excited when I asked him if he would like to hold one.
I love how little ones are so fascinated by mini beasts, child 2 as a toddler would lie down in the grass watching the ants, scurry about collecting their dinner and both child 2 and 3 were obsessed with wood lice. Today child 4 and I hunted for crickets in the grass, we could hear them chirping but couldn't find them and found beautiful cob webs hidden in the hedgerow, glistening in the sunlight waiting for a bug to be ensnared for the spiders supper.
The summer holidays are just around the corner and I am looking for activities to entertain them all - not easy with the age gaps, 15, 13, 8 and 2. Based on today I think week one will be mini beast week, bedtime stories will be The Very Hungry caterpillar, The Bad Tempered Ladybird both by Eric Carle and Three Hungry Spiders, we can go on a bug expedition to the Secret Garden where dragon flies swoop and swirl we can hunt for worms in the veg patch and find wood lice in our forest school space. Of course following the national trusts 50 things to do before you are 11&3/4s we must complete number 17 set up a snail race and 31 go on a bug hunt. Lunches can be themed with tomatoes made to look like ladybirds, spider cup cakes and roly poly snail sausage rolls, we can make butterfly paintings, you know when you paint one side of the paper then fold it over to make a matching imprint on the opposite side. Pinterest has a million ideas for bug and mini beast crafts if the weather is wet.
Just an impromptu meeting with a very hungry caterpillar has provided me with a weeks worth of exciting plans an ideas for the first week of our first week as a family of six summer holiday!!!!!
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