Don’t panic when you read the title, it doesn’t mean kids have to suck up bugs as a kindergarten readiness activity. That’s the name of the tool. This super idea comes from Greening Sam and Avery via Teach Preschool. The entire post is so great you will want to read it all!
our new bug tool (from Greening Sam and Avery)
“This weekend a colleague of mine introduced me to The Bug Sucker. He had a whole bunch of them and actually sold me two! I thought they were interesting and such a unique bug tool. Check it out in action!
- Greening-Sam-Avery
The idea is that there are some kids that do not like to touch bugs but it is still great for them to be able to safely collect bugs and study them. The bug sucker uses your breathe to pull the bug into the tube to be able to look at them up close.
You place the end of the green tube over the bug that you want to catch.Then you put your mouth on the part that looks like the top of a water bottle. Then you simply suck, like you are drinking through a straw. You have to suck pretty hard but because of the shape of the tube and the water bottle top you aren’t in any danger of sucking up any bugs or major debris.
- Greening-Sam-Avery-bug-bottle
Sam wanted to try again and again to see how many bugs she could catch. But then after a while she looked at me and said “Can’t I just pick them up with my fingers?” HA! Love that kid.
But not every kid is as bug friendly as Sam. You may also have a child that hasn’t quite mastered the skill of being gentle. This is a great tool for those kids that have a tendency to squish the bugs that they are trying to catch.
So, I did some research and figured out where my friend, David Stokes, got these from. You can find them HERE.
If you have one of these I would love to know what you (and your kids) think of it!” Greening Sam and Avery
I’m going to look for one of these or, at least, see if I can find out how to make one. (Just found out they are called POOTERS.) Think of all the kindergarten readiness fun and learning: exploring, observing, discovering, goal-setting, sizes, colors, persistence, habitats, connecting to nature and more. Some children are learning to deal with their emotions and overcome fears and anxiety. Hope there’s an easy way to transfer bugs out! Does this interest your family?