In partnership with Growing Up Boulder, the children were invited to a nearby lake to interact with the environment and develop ideas about how to care for bugs.

In planning the trip, the children created bug houses out of various materials. 

They continued this work as part of their daily research.  Discussions arose about what the bugs would need.  By documenting the many ideas the children had while creating bug houses, several themes were highlighted.

What elements impact the safety of insects?

​​People

Weather

Other Animals

​House Structure

When we visit, how can we make the bugs feel safe?


"If we dress up like bugs, we would be less likely to
scare them."  

As the children reflected on their visit to the lake, they continued to develop strategies for keeping the bugs safe.

One idea continued to resurface: How could the children become smaller so as not to scare the bugs?

As they worked with the concepts of balance and scale inherent in construction, the children encountered obstacles surrounding their size vs. the size of the materials. 
 
What if we created a large bug landscape by projecting images onto the walls?

The teachers asked a few of the children to create a “final” version of their machine as a surprise for their friends. The children stepped through this machine and into a new world, a world where the grass was taller than their heads, the insects were the size of people, and the sounds were of a peaceful meadow. 

Meet the "biggerator"

How will the children continue these empathic relationships with the natural world as they move on to their new elementary schools?

​How will these experiences be stepping stones to the rest of their lives as citizens of the Boulder Community and of the earth?

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