bugs and other critters

I found a {insert the word gross} beetle on the floor. I normally would take a tissue and throw it out, or if it’s a spider, I would get out the huge vacuum and get rid of it that way. Not amused. I have never liked bugs. I have never wanted to touch bugs. I actually was borderline arachnophobic through my teen and college years. Parenthood has helped me get a grip on most of this, but still, I do not want to be close to bugs, and especially spiders.

But, I paused. May would love this, I thought. She loves all bugs, and she has been a little ant catcher, smusher, investigator, this summer when the ants have tried to sneak in from outside.

So, I picked it up with a piece of paper, and set it on a dish towel on the table, for some investigation time. She was so excited, and intense.
Another day, I pointed out a ladybug to the kids, and they watched it for at least a couple minutes. Poking it, giggling together. The wonder.So now, my most hated little creatures, these bugs, are treasures. If I see one, outside or in, I snatch it up and set it on May’s Reggio Emilia inspired nature table. Daddy showed her the little treasures. She quickly dumped them and got to work looking at and poking at each one.She has no preconceived idea that these bugs should be feared, or that girls, should scream and run away. {Confession: that’s what I do — but! I am trying so hard not to do it around the children. They are calming me.}
And outside of our lovely large kitchen window, a little spider {eek} decided to spin a massive web. Eh, not a little spider. A massive mama spider. But, instead of shrieking, I invited the children to see. They watched with glee and awe. Every day, they watched their pet spider. When Marshall was washing the outside windows, I even told him not to harm the spider! The kids loved her too much.Days and hours staring at that spider. We’ve caught grasshoppers and frogs. All to be released the same day. But oh the glee on this girl’s face. We’ve gotten books out from the library on these bugs and creepy crawly critters to encourage her interest. And oh the moth. An amazing find by my son. He ran over to tell his dad and they caught him carefully together. He had already passed on {died} so we now have him to treasure and keep. We couldn’t let May touch him, which she was very distressed about. My son was overjoyed with glee — he learned about how delicate their wings are, and daddy looked up the moth on his tablet. Here, the moth is flying.