Throw a Backyard Bug Party!

By Amy Crelly

Maybe your birthday girl is a budding entomologist who would love nothing more than to collect six-legged creatures with her friends on her big day (squeals and giggles optional), maybe you need a way to break up your boys' summertime mantra of "Mom, we're bored," or maybe you just want to give the kids a good excuse to go outside and play! Whatever your reason to celebrate, these learning-rich activities serve up big-time fun with little or no party planning required - enjoy!

READY, SET, GO!
Start with a 20-minute bug search in your backyard, using clean, dry containers (jars or plastic containers work well). Remember to pre-poke holes in the plastic lids, so bugs can breathe, or give kids aluminum foil (also with holes) for kids covering and uncovering their containers.

SHOW AND TELL
Identify the different bugs kids catch. If you want to keep your creeping, crawling guests outside, you can always take pictures with a digital camera, then bring the photos inside for reference as you search online or leaf through books or field guides. (InsectIdentification.org is a pretty good place to start.)

You can also have kids gather in a circle on the grass, and encourage each child to pick one or two favorite bugs to share with the others. (What's special about that bug? Where did you find it? Have you ever seen a bug like that before? Does anyone know what it's called? Does anyone have a guess?)

BUG OLYMPICS
The Fruity-Yard Dash: Set your bugs down and bait them toward a finish line with pieces of fruit or crumbs. Which foods work best? Which bugs are the fastest?
Long-Jump vs. Crawl: Who will cross the finish line first, the grasshopper, the garden spider, or the ant? (Peaking kids' curiosity this way? Free. Giving them their first taste of wagering? Priceless!)

BACKYARD BUG GAMES
Pin the (Other) Wing on the Butterfly: Self-explanatory, yes?
Grass-Hop/Grass-Stop: Basically Red Light/Green Light, but kids race grass-hopper style (from a deep squat, both feet leap and land together).
Caterpillars and Cocoons: Same basic rules as Freeze Tag, but a little different. Kids "frozen" in their cocoons can't move until another caterpillar crawls under their legs, at which point they turn into butterflies (and have to run around with their arms akimbo, hands on hips). Butterflies tagged a second time are out. The last caterpillar or butterfly tagged is "it" for the next round.

INSECTILICIOUS!
Whipping up bug-themed treats is a piece of cake - er, cookie (or graham cracker, if you prefer). Start with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt, add gummy worms or "ladybug-colored" M&Ms, or pretzel "walking sticks," etc., then generously layer crushed chocolate cookie or graham cracker crumbs on top, allowing your candy "bugs" to peek out of the "dirt" crust. (Let kids add a layer of peanut butter if you'd like a little more protein or they want to add a muddy texture in the mix.) Juice becomes "bug juice," and instantly you've got food worth playing with!

AN INSECT'S TALE
Gather the kids for story time ("The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar" is still a classic for little bugs and "Don't Bug Me" is a fun read for gradeschool grasshoppers), or invite them to pair up and make their own stories about the bugs they caught. They can write them down or act them out for the others at the party.

WHAT TO DO WITH LATE-YKIDS
When the neighbor kids linger (a few of those katydids always do), announce it's movie time, and let them curl up (rolly-polly style) in front of A Bug's Life or Bee Movie or Charlotte's Web, so you can put up your feet already (all two of them)!

Amy Crelly is Editor (and Butterfly-Lover-at-Large) for Sacramento Parent Magazine. She regularly contributes to SacramentoParent.com's online exclusives. Want to share something fun with other readers? E-mail amy@sacramentoparent.com.