Grasshoppers

So, we're supposed to be front loading our school year with American History, finishing up with our trip to Boston in November, and then saving all of our Science lessons for the Winter and Springtime. On a whim; however, we snuck in a day on grasshoppers. The night before we had been reading all about the Old Green Grasshopper in James and the Giant Peach, and as we walked all of the preschool kids out to their cars, we couldn't help but notice a large number of grasshoppers flying through the grass. What the heck, I thought. Let's get a jar and see if we can't catch a few. Then we can see if they are the short horned or the long horned variety, and therefore decipher what kind of music they might play. (see James for more detailed info.) So, we all grabbed some shoes and a Mason jar and went on a grasshopper hunt. As it turned out, these little suckers are harder to catch than we first thought. We didn't realize, until looking them up later, that they have a compound eye that lets them see in all directions, and that they are experts at alluding predators--be they birds or boys. Eventually, however, we caught a few, and brought them inside for a closer look.











We soon discovered we had the short-horned variety in our area. We also learned all sorts of other fun facts, particularly about their music. Then I whipped up a quick worksheet on labeling the grasshopper body parts--giving us a quick review of the 3 parts of insects, and I even found a grasshopper life cycle print-out to further review metamorphosis. Then, just for the heck of it, we read the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, (we did a low-key fables unit over the summer so this was also review) and I let the kids watch A Bug's Life. Our grasshopper class added an unexpected four hours to our homeschooling on that particular day, but oh well. That's the joy of homeschooling, right!