Time to Remember (and giveaway)

"It was a time of innocence.
A time of "kick the can" and climbing trees,
of riding bikes and skinning knees,
of endless days and porch swing nights,
watching flickering dancing lights.
It was a time to remember." - Robert Nutt (Amy's Light)

As soon as the evenings grew warm, S began asking, "Is it firefly season yet?" And just as he got settled into bed, he would run back to the window for one last check. A few nights ago, as he lay sleeping, his dad and I saw the first flickers. We made plans to celebrate the following night with an outdoor reading of "Amy's Light". Satch put on his pajamas, grabbed a glow ring, listened and waited for the lights.

"In the night we shall go in...
and your hands,
your little hands and mine...
will steal the stars". - Pablo Neruda















Amy's Light by Robert Nutt is an enchanting story that truly reflects the wonder and innocence of childhood through the magical experience of catching fireflies. The illustrations are beautiful beyond words, lifelike, yet dreamy. The moonlight, the glow of the fireflies reflecting in the little girl's eyes...BREATHTAKING!

The generous peeps at Dawn Publishing are allowing me to giveaway a copy of Amy's Light to one very lucky reader...and you have no idea how happy this makes me.

Kindly leave a comment on the post (please include your email for winner notification) by midnight Sunday June 20th. Tell me about your earliest memory of fireflies or a firefly moment shared with your child. The winner will be picked by random generator and announced Monday June 21st.

Buggin' Again

"Be there with life's mysteries.

Welcome them into your life." - Terry Bookman

Satch found a rather interesting bug the other day. It was...um...HUGE! It was slow and robotic with spikes on it's back like a dinosaur. I was alarmed by its long, sharp proboscis so I would not allow Satch to pick it up. As I explained to Satch, animals have a way of talking to us, even if the creature doesn't speak "people", we must use our eyes as well as our ears to understand. So, we carried it home in a newspaper and put it in our observation tank.

I contacted an entomologist at VT and explained that my 3 yr old son LOVES bugs and therefore, I try to give him a little information about the creatures he discovers, i.e. name and characteristics. I needed some help identifying this one. The bug expert replied. He said it was a Wheel Bug and can wield a painful bite if mishandled.
While Satch napped, I read up on Wheel Bugs and learned that they are the largest of the True Bug family and the dreaded monster of the insect world. They are beneficial Assassin Bugs and eat soft bodied insects by stabbing them with its beak and injecting it with saliva. Its salivary enzymes destroy soft tissue and then the bug slurps up the goo.

I explained this to Satch and Robert at dinner time, then my husband promptly ran down to the basement to find a cricket. He came back with a juicy one and plopped it in the tank. The Wheel Bug climbed down from its perch, speared the cricket and began the process of eating it. Robert was excited. Satch was completely blown away and tried to process it all. I was completely grossed out and couldn't finish my risotto.

For those of you who are interested in what scene was like, I found this video on youtube.


*For the record, I have an aversion to insects, but I don't let on because Satch loves them so.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Pupa

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious" - Albert Einstein















A dying bug, crawled in from the outside. Though it was clearly on it's last leg, Satch looked at it with his magnifying glass, insisted it was just fine and marveled over it for some time before putting it outside. "I miss the bug", he sighed several times, but his longing gave way to joy when he found several tent worm caterpillars trying to cross the sidewalk. We carried them home and made them a house in a jar with some leaves and grass. He calls them the "Cah Bears". *Note the swollen allergic eyes.

 

I did a bit of reading on how to care for the pests...I mean critters until they pupate and complete their life cycle. It seems that they feed for up to SIX weeks before pupating and the pupation can take 2-4 weeks before the moth emerges.























I was going to set them free because I didn't think Satch had the patience for this pupation, but one had pupated over night. It looks like felted wool! I wish I had it on film.
















I set the other caterpillar free and we're going through with the pupation project.

On that note...Satch has two new favorite bug books that I would like to share:

This story, based on a song by Phillip and Hannah Hoose, teaches tolerance and respect for diversity. Hey, Little Ant has been featured on Reading Rainbow and in Teaching Tolerance Magazine.

Roberto the Insect Architect is a story encourages children to build their dreams. I love the message of the book as well as the funky illustrations. But what I think I love most of all is the line on the last page, "Be Creative!"

Buggin'

Here are some fun finds for bug-lovin' boys and girls...

Satchel loves BUGS and is thoroughly enjoying the GeoSafari Field Explorer Kit by Educational Insights a division of Learning Resources. It includes a bug magnifying jar, a handy little tool with all sorts of gadgets including a magnet to test soil for iron...

as well as a small pair of binoculars with built in compass.

The binoculars came in handy recently as Satch and his dad spied on an enormous Turkey Vulture from our third floor window.

This nifty toy indulges Satchel's interest in robots AND insects. The robotic Hexbug changes direction when it walks into something or when there is a loud noise.

We built a maze with his marble track and watched the critter find it's way through.

Honey: A Gift from Nature is a beautifully illustrated story about where honey comes from.


They're really crustaceans! I'm a Pill Bug is an amusing look at the life of the Pill Bug.

In Front of the Ant is a little book that gives the reader a bug's eye view of the word through extreme close up photography. (This one made me a little itchy)