ABC SERIES: A is for ANTS

Our first week of lessons was really fun and exciting; every day Lanae begged for a lesson. We didn't even get to everything I had planned. Thank heavens for Pinterest and all the amazing ideas out there.

Our introduction to ants consisted of a Powerpoint put together by my husband... because he loves to do that kind of thing. When I told him about my ideas he said, "well what can I do to help?" Best. Husband. Ever. Really. 

Here are some of the pictures from the Powerpoint...

how cool is that tower?

Top left: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/03/more-ants-than-leaves

Bottom left: http://www.disabledveterans.org/2010/05/28/gi-bill-confusion-at-the-anthill/

Right: http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/375477/Escape-ants-are-a-tower-of-strength

Our craft for the week was egg carton ants. I found about a dozen sources for these when I was looking on Pinterest. But this was the first one I found and the instructions are very clear. 

These were super easy to make, too. Just make sure to buy a cardboard egg carton next time you need eggs. Cut the carton into groups of three. Pull out the black paint and paint brushes. Let the little ones go at it while you grab the glue gun (you might want to protect whatever surface your kids are painting on with some newspaper or something). Once the paint dries you can add the googly eyes and the legs.

For the legs we used pipe cleaners cut into 2-3 inch segments. Poke a hole in the side and push them through. If you put a little blob of hot glue on the inside they will stick perfectly. Ours are still together after a couple days of play. 

Once the glue dried we took our ants outside and talked about the different things that ants do, so it was a good review.

What do ants do?

(according to Lanae)

carry leaves

live underground

make towers

and they kiss, too

One day during the week we watched a Youtube video of The Ants Go Marching. It was really cute. We marched and sang along. We would also stop it occasionally and count the ants. 

Our final project for the week was Ant Food Art. This was so fun that we decided to do it for dinner, when Scott was home.

We gathered our materials first. Here the possibilities are endless. We had a kid (K) version and an adult (A) version.

Ants = Raisins (K) Black Beans (A)

Anthill = Applesauce (K) Quinoa wrap filling (A)

Leaves = Kiwi, Summer Sausage

Fruit = Blueberries and Mangos

Twigs = Sliced Cheese

Dirt = Wheat Thins

Grass = Avocado 

 and toothpicks to hold things together...

Lanae had a blast! She loved helping put things together and she especially loved being able to play with her food. What kid wouldn't? 

building an ant tower

placing ants in the anthill

 oh no!! they're stealing my cookie

We needed something a little more filling than applesauce, so I made these delicious Hot & Cheesy Quinoa wraps with black beans for the ants, of course. I'm still working on perfecting the recipe so that I can share! 

We finished the week by watching ANTS on Netflix. I would have preferred A Bug's Life, but didn't have easy access to it. 

If you are looking for some other cute ideas, I pinned a few more on Pinterest to my ABC Series board.