Enabling Environments: Outdoors - Get the bug!

Spring is here, and with it, a huge increase in the visibility of minibeasts and other small animals. Creatures that have been hibernating, or just keeping a low profile over the winter months, are beginning to appear again - making this the perfect time to introduce young children to the wonders of the natural world.

You will no doubt be familiar with the tools of the trade: pooter collecting devices, fishing/butterfly nets and magnifiers. You may even have created a log pile or a mini-pond to encourage wildlife into your setting. This year, why not provide the creatures that share your garden with a luxurious bug hotel? Making one is not difficult and the process itself will offer a plethora of learning opportunities for the children.

The concept behind a bug hotel is that it accommodates the needs of many different species of bug. Its constituent parts - twigs, bamboo, leaves, bricks and much more besides - will create nooks and crannies of varying sizes and shapes, and its size ensures a generous population of permanent and transitory residents. Inevitably, some bugs find themselves somewhat lower down the food chain than others, leading to interesting discussions between children and practitioners about which minibeasts are best suited to this kind of high-rise living.

OUTDOOR LEARNING

At World of Children Nursery, in Ealing, London, installing a bug hotel was part of a bigger programme to improve the quality of learning outdoors. Inspiration for the hotel stemmed from the enthusiasm of three children for a spider book and led to a whole cohort of children working alongside key practitioners to create the structure, with spiders as the intended residents.

The group took a lead role in the decision-making. Supported by their key person, they examined the lifecycle of spiders, discussed suitable habitats and researched the design of bug hotels on the internet, returning regularly to their favourite book about spiders.

At the time, the nursery was in temporary accommodation so it could only create temporary accommodation for bugs. This led to a series of bug apartments, rather than a high-rise hotel, so that the whole habitat could be transported to the new premises once the refurbishment was complete. They made clever use of hanging baskets and plant pots, creating bug apartments on several levels. This had the added benefit of requiring children to move their whole bodies to observe the bugs.

The bug hotel had an immediate effect. Children and staff who had previously steered clear of insects - or worse, stepped on them - took an instant and abiding interest in the creatures sharing their garden.

Deputy manager Sandra Yiangu says, 'This is because everyone took part in developing and creating the habitat. We also used carpet-time sessions to extend the learning, with bug stories leading to the children discussing the bugs they'd like to "invite" to the hotel.'

One two-year-old wanted to observe bees, and his peers energetically agreed, so the next stage in the process was to sow flower seeds to attract bees. In its permanent venue, World of Children is now extending its bug hotel to house bees as well as spiders and other minibeasts.

As part of the wider outdoor improvement project, practitioners reflected on the array of activities that were inspired by the bug hotel. These included children discussing the construction of the 'apartments' and using new mathematical language to describe their shape, size and location. Children also crafted their own indoor hotels, using recycled materials and filling them with meticulously created 'bugs' to take home and share with parents.

One child became captivated by snails, and would seek them out, bring them into nursery and then take them home - much to the delight of his parents. His key person talked with him about the habitat needs of snails. They inspected snails' bodies together, and she helped him understand why the bug hotel was the best place for a snail to live.

Ms Yiangu says, 'Creating and caring for a bug hotel and its residents has enhanced our children's development through all six areas of learning. Their vocabulary was extended through storytelling and singing. Creativity and problem-solving became child-initiated and their social skills were built up as they shared observations with one another. Children's hand-eye co-ordination improved noticeably as they learned how to pick up bugs safely and transport a living creature carefully and appropriately.

'This was a really rich project and we are all excited about creating a new bug hotel in our permanent location - watch this space!'

BUILDING A BUG HOTEL

To make the most of the experience of building a bug hotel with young children, allow them to collaborate with you during each of the following steps:

1. Research the habitats of the creatures you hope to attract. Look in books, online and, of course, in your own garden or a nearby park. What can children deduce about the sorts of spaces that minibeasts like? Are they dark or light? Hidden or exposed? Small or large?

2. Find a spot for the hotel that will suit the habits of the hotel residents and be accessible to the children too.

3. Agree the structure. Your hotel needs to be sturdy and safe for small hands to explore. Settings have used old bookcases, packing crates, empty seedling trays, and slates, slabs and bricks to make the 'frame' for their hotel. Do you have anything that can be recycled? If not, consider asking parents for donations, checking out skips and tips, or making a timber frame.

4. Collect the materials and equipment that you'll need. This might take some time, as you'll probably have to ask around for some of it. Ask children to suggest 'bedding' that bugs might like. They might think about sheep's wool, wood shavings, twigs, bamboo sticks, sawdust, cotton rags, leaves, slate, straw, sand, bricks, moss - all of these would be attractive to one bug or another. Part of the fun is experimenting with 'bedding' to find out which creature will move in where, and which 'rooms' are the least popular.

5. Position the frame in the identified spot, then add the bedding, striking a balance between a tight fit (so that the bedding doesn't fall out) and creating space for bugs to colonise and move about. It's a good idea to place similar materials together, so that colonies of bugs will live together, but equally you may want the children to decide where the materials go. There will be plenty of learning from observing where and how many guests the hotel attracts. This may have to be repeated several times to get it right.

6. Evaluate the use of your hotel. Take photographs of children interacting with it, and discuss modifications with the children as the hotel becomes populated.

From experience

Some settings have had to rethink the structure or position of their hotels after their initial attempts proved unable to withstand the rigours of life in a nursery! In one pre-school, the bug hotel proved too appealing to the children and ended up devoid of bedding, which was borrowed for other play activities, and so the residents moved out! The setting plans to rebuild the hotel in a spot that is more visible from the main playspace to avoid it becoming a plaything in itself.

Meanwhile, a primary school hit problems when they built their hotel from cylinders of green plastic garden mesh filled with leaves - a simple but effective method. However, the vegetation inside the cylinder eventually turned to compost! The pupils are investigating more robust structures.

Extending the learning

• Observe and record the creatures using the hotel. Make simple charts using counters or conkers to show the numbers or species of bugs seen.

• Draw pictures and make models of the bugs you've seen.

• Replicate the sounds that bugs might make and create rhythms and rhymes (using toys and household objects, if you don't have instruments).

• Visit your local park or wildlife reserve to observe larger animals and find out about where bugs are situated in the food chain.

MORE INFORMATION

• For integrating minibeasts into a playful curriculum see Learning Through Landscapes: www.ltl.org.uk

• For places to explore wildlife see Wildlife Trusts: www.wildlifetrusts.org, www.buglife.org.uk, www.growingschools.org.uk

• RHS Campaign for School Gardening has a short guide to making a bug hotel, with several ambitious designs illustrated: www.rhs.org.uk.

Julie Mountain is director of Play Learning Life and is writing on behalf of Learning Through Landscapes