Creating homes for minibeasts is a great way for your child to explore the natural environment and develop key skills
Some of the things your child will want to look out for include:
- Bees
- Ladybirds
- Butterflies
- Spiders
- Beetles
- Snails
- Grasshoppers
- Daddy long-legs
- Earwigs
- Woodlice
To make a mini beast hotel, you will need:
- Clean containers such as a tins, cans or drinks bottles
- Natural foliage and found objects – leaves, grass, moss, pine cones, twigs etc.
- Bamboo canes, brown paper or cardboard and sticks
- String
STEP 1
Safely cut the top and bottom off the bottle to make a tube – Parent or carer to do this.
If using a tin or can, use a tin opener to remove the top and bottom. Be careful of sharp edges whilst doing this and during the activity.
Safety tip: Use sandpaper to sand down the sharp edges of the tin.
STEP 2
Fill the bottle or tin tube with your leaves, grass, twigs and paper, as well as any other natural objects you can find.
Minibeasts love to shelter inside hollow things, so think about little spaces where they might like to explore.
STEP 3
Put some more leaves, grass, moss etc. around the outside of your tube and secure with the string. It is now ready to be hung outside somewhere sheltered, to see who comes to visit.
Butterfly feeding station:
- Make some sugar water. Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in approximately 50ml of water.
- Soak a sponge in the sugar water, ensuring the solution has been fully absorbed.
- Tie string around the sponge and hang it outside.
What will my child be learning?
Communication and language development:
- Listening to and following instructions
- Having opportunities to ask questions about things they experience and explore additional questions they may have
Personal, social and emotional development
- Exploring new things and environments, while checking in regularly with familiar adults.
- Teamwork and collaboration in engaging with the project and the rewarding experience this provides
Physical development
- Developing control in holding and using tools and objects, as well as finding places for their minibeast hotel to go
