I hope you have been enjoying all of the great learning activities in Playful Preschool. It has been fun to join in with a great group of blogger educators to bring you activities each week related to a new theme. In case you missed any of our contributions, we shared a Family Footprints Craft for the family theme, While At The Farm Children’s Song for the Farm theme, Corny Science Experiment for the Harvest theme and How To Make Your Own Fall Colors Potpourri for the Fall Colors theme. Now, it is on to our next theme which is Nighttime.
We have talked a lot about nocturnal animals and the Sugar Snaps can all proudly name at least three. They understand that nocturnal animals are active at nighttime and sleep during the daytime. I decided to expand their ‘nocturnal knowledge’ by adding an insect. We had a great time making a cricket habitat and doing a simple science experiment with the crickets.
How to Make a Cricket Habitat:
You will need:
- A clear plastic box with a clear plastic lid (or an aquarium with aluminum mesh fitted on top)
- Something to poke holes in the box such as a drill, a nail and hammer or a screwdriver
- Sand (enough for the bottom of the habitat)
- Recycled egg carton
- Crayons and markers to decorate egg carton if desired
- Scissors to cut the egg carton and sponge
- Pieces of a sponge
- Water to wet the sponge
- Container for food such as a recycled pudding cup
- Food for the crickets such as a chopped up apple or fish food
Cut up an egg carton so that you have little huts for the crickets. We made four (with one egg cup each). Make sure that the arch of the hut is large enough so that children can peer in to see the crickets. If desired, have your children or students decorate the huts with crayons or markers. Poke several holes in the plastic box lid. I found it easiest to do this when the lid was secured on top of the box. The look on the Sugar Snaps’ faces showed that I had a new ‘cool factor’ when I used a power drill to make holes in the lid. They were fascinated seeing me use a power tool! You could also use a hammer and nail or a screwdriver to make the holes. Either way, this is an adult task. Next, add sand to the bottom of the box. Children can help with this task by helping to tip a bag of sand or filling measuring cups with sand and dumping them in. Cut a couple of pieces off of a sponge and wet them with water. Squeeze them out so that they are damp, not soaked. Too much water can be harmful to crickets. Putting in a bowl of water is not recommended.
Have your children or students place one moistened sponge piece on each side of the box. Then, prepare food for the crickets by dicing up an apple (or you can use another suitable food such as fish food). Crickets would also enjoy some chopped citrus peels. Either way, prepare two small containers of food with equal amounts and place one on each side of the habitat. Place an equal number of huts on each side of the habitat with the arches facing out so that everyone can see inside.
Simple Cricket Science Experiment:
You will need:
- Cricket habitat with several crickets (We got a dozen medium to large ones.)
- Glow stick
- Dark Fabric such as a towel to cover one side of habitat
Before you add the crickets to the habitat, discuss what you will be doing with your children or students. First, you will place a glow stick on one side but not the other. How do they think the crickets will react? Next, you will make one half dark with a piece of fabric. The other side will be in the lit room with an activated glow stick. What are their predictions about the crickets behavior?
Activate the glow stick and place it on one side of the habitat. Add the crickets and close the lid. Have your children or students observe the crickets to see if they prefer the side with or without the glow stick. Observe how they react to the glow stick. Do they crawl on it? Do they scamper away? Do they avoid it?
Next, cover one half of the box with dark fabric to block out the light. Have the your children or students observe the crickets and count how many they can find in the open on the lit side of the habitat. How many did they observe going into the huts on the lit side? Have them do a math problem to figure out how many crickets are on the lit side and how many are in the darker side. Talk about the nocturnal nature of crickets and how the darker side of the habitat simulates a nighttime environment. If possible, darken the room, or observe the crickets at night in a darkened room. Can they hear them chirp? The clerk at the local pet supplies store courteously gave us crickets without wings so they would not fly out when we opened the box. Ours were very quiet. Discuss how crickets make the chirping sound by rubbing their forewings together. Have the children make chirping sounds by pretending to rub their imaginary wings together.
I labeled a photo of one of our crickets to show them the very basic anatomy of a cricket. It was fun to see their excitement learning about crickets. If you would like to teach the Playful Preschool nighttime unit to your children or students be sure to read and pin the rest of the posts in the series. Follow the hasthtag #playfulpreschool so you can easily find all the Playful Preschool posts.
For MORE Playful Preschool Nighttime Activities:
Night Owl Painting and Books at The Educators’ Spin On It