On the 13 and 16 September we had our first Nature Explorers session. These run once a month on a Wednesday for 0- to 5-year-olds at RSPB St Aidan’s and on a Saturday for 5- to 12-year-olds at RSPB Fairburn Ings.
With the 0- to 5-year-olds we had a great time listening to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in our den in the woods. The children loved the characters who brought the story to life. Then we went off into the woods to see who we could find!
Looking in the trees we found some spiderweb's with spiders on them and some millipedes were hiding under the leaves. Using a net, we waded through the long grass to find hundreds of crane flies, we even managed to catch one in a pot so we could use the magnifying glasses to see it up close! We found a grasshopper and identified a seven spotted ladybird amongst many other creepy crawlies that were jumping and flying all around us. We were all very excited to find a cocoon which was carefully wrapped up in silk in the grass!
After that it was time to sing some songs about the insects we had found, using a song cube everyone was able to choose one of the songs and join in with the singing and actions. Then it was time to make our own bugs that we could take home with us. Using a pinecone for a body we made pipe cleaner legs to attach on and googly eyes made the faces come alive.
We headed back up to the café to say our goodbyes. Next month we will be looking at Autumn and seeing what has changed at RSPB St Aidan’s. We had just as much fun on Saturday with the 5 - 12 year olds, where we even found a newt in the bug village bug hotel at RSPB Fairburn Ings!
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Written by: Peggy Cook
Photos: Heidi Campbell