Children are fascinated by the world around them. They learn through interacting with their senses when exploring a subject. Early in life children tend to be curious about the world around them and eager to interact with it. By understanding insects, children can be brave and not fearful or frightened. Researching the bugs around them, teaching them about their purpose, and discussing the importance of bugs can help foster a love for these creatures and appreciation of their place in the overall ecology. Experiencing the actual life cycle of such creatures as butterflies and lady bugs, provides children an organic understanding of processes to which they will be exposed less directly through textbooks and reading later in their academic lives.
Having a beekeeper visit the classroom allows children to look inside an actual beehive and learn the difference between “good” bees such as those that pollinate plants and produce honey and dangerous bees such as yellow jackets and wasps.
Watching the life cycle in which a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis then emerges as a butterfly gives the children a front row seat into the life cycle and wonders of nature. Once hatched and fully mature, the children participate in freeing the butterflies, observing the first tentative wing movements, the gaining of strength and confidence and finally, the mature butterfly confidently flying off to take its place in nature. As the newly freed butterflies fly off, the children break into spontaneous cheers, excited jumping up and down and dancing an impromptu butterfly victory dance.
The children will not go home and tell their parents that they studied entomology in science class today, but that is in fact what they did. And in a manner that captured their minds and hearts and they will always remember.