For Christmas we got the Ant Works Habitat. Thanks Mom! It is an ant farm made out of a special gel that was formulated by NASA to study ants in space. It is very cool. Last week we ordered our ants.
Since we will soon have ants for pets, we decided we should learn about them. Our first unit study, ANTS!
I picked out a couple books from the library and we have been reading a chapter a day. After we read we discuss, draw pictures and list facts that we learned. Yesterday we made an ant out of a section of an egg carton. Three sections to be exact to represent the head, thorax and abdomen. We painted them, then added pipe cleaner legs and antennae.
It is DS's favorite subject of the day. He runs for his ant book. I must say I am enjoying this child led unit study approach. I wonder what will be next. One never knows.
I will let you know when the ants arrive, it may take 3-4 weeks. Yippee, have I mentioned I love Science?
5 comments:
Oh, I love science too! This sounds like a blast, I can't wait to be a homeschool mama!!!!
Ants, eh? I'd be a little nervous about that but willing to give it a try if my son asked for them. :)
Good luck!
We did a study of insects in our co-op and studied ants too. How FUN! I thought I'd pass on a couple of ideas for your unit study that our kids enjoyed.
1. Ant Song (song to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes):
Head, Thorax, Abdomen,
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Eyes, Antenna, Wings and Legs
Head, Thorax, Abdomen, Abdomen
2. Ant Song
The ants go marching one by one...
3. Snack - Ants on a log (if your kids like celery, peanut butter and raisins. Cut celery into small sticks for use as logs. Fill the hollow part with PB (or cream cheese) and place raisins on top to represent the ants.
4. Game - Ant trail!
Let children pretend they are worker ants carrying food back to their anthill. Then place a beanbag or something similar(food)on their back. Set up a trail with tables and chairs and other obstacles. Challenge the children to get to the anthill without losing the food on their backs.
5. Craft - Ant Farm Jars
It is amazing how much children learn when you do a unit study at this age. When everything is pulled together it really helps make connections!
HAVE FUN!
We have an ant farm contraption filled with sand,but I love yours with the blue gel! Have fun!!!
My brother has this exact same ant farm!! The light is so bright though that, from its spot by my brother's windowsill, it blares across the whole neighborhood. I guess the good thing is they're much easier to take care of than the dog he wanted :-)
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