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Summer Learning Adventure: Searching for Brown Widow Spiders
What are the characteristics of a Brown Widow spider? Find out in this exciting segment of Backyard Bug Adventures. In this clip, Brent makes a daring exploration in his backyard to find Brown Widows, the cousins of Black Widows.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR1ATlf2Hf8
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Posted on Oct 27, 2020
Fun Ways to Stay Connected to Nature – Outdoors and At Home!
The leaves are changing and crisp fall air is upon us…the perfect time to head out into nature! Not only does time spent in nature promote exercise and fresh air (duh), but it has also been shown to build confidence, promote creativity and imagination, and reduce stress and fatigue (we’re all feeling a bit of both these days, no?). Since we’re all spending more time indoors now, getting out into nature is more important than ever before. (Not to panic you, but Nature Deficit Disorder is actually a real thing.)Fall is the perfect time to get outside and explore! The weather is brisk and cool and there are so many amazing things to discover and do, both on your walk and after, like:Count the Colors!
On your walk: Colorful leaves are one of the most amazing things about fall. See if you can spot brown, yellow, orange, red, and multicolored leaves. Take a few of your favorites home with you and…At home: Try printing them in paper clay and painting them, turning them into autumn suncatchers, making crayon rubbings, and more. While your kids are creating, you can share this simple explanation for color-changing leaves (and find other awesome fall leaf activities), from the EI blog. Don’t forget the apple cider!
Photo credit: artfulparent.comEI Tip: Leaf peeping is even more fun with the GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars® Extreme™! Kids can magnify what they see AND hear with this set of kid-friendly binoculars featuring 3x magnification and built-in audio amplification.
Watch for Critters!
On your walk: Stop, stand still (a challenge, we know), stay quiet, and look around. The critters you could see depend on where you’re walking, but you just might spot furry friends like rabbits, groundhogs, and chipmunks. Turn your gaze toward the ground and you see if you can spy any ants (look for the mounded dirt that marks their colonies), stinkbugs, ladybugs, or beetles. Check the trees for woodpeckers, hawks, jays, and squirrels. Watch your heads though – squirrels are scavenging for nuts in the fall!To add to the fun try a scavenger hunt that allows you and your little ones to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of fall! You'll love these free scavenger hunt printables from teachingmama.org. Get out and explore!
At home: Check your hunt list and talk about all the things you found, and what you'll be on the lookout for next time. This may help inspire more curious questions and learning fun! Here are 5 Random Fall Facts facts you can add to the mix!EI Tip: If your kids can’t get enough of the amazing, organized activity of ants, bring home the GeoSafari® Ant Factory, an escape-proof ant habitat perfect for observing ants in action. Comes complete with mail-in ant certificate.
Scope Out the Spiders!
On your walk: Get out into nature early enough on a cool, fall day, and you’ll be rewarded with a spooky spattering of silky spiderwebs! Covered in morning dew, they’re easy to spot in the trees, on the bushes, and suspended between upright objects. With more than 45,000 different species of spiders found around the world, you’re bound to see something pretty cool. (Interesting note – only about a dozen types of spiders can harm humans!) Take the time to inspect their webs and point out the different weaving patterns and…At home: Make your own spider web, using a paper plate, hole punch, kid-safe plastic needle, and yarn, following these simple instructions from JugglingWithKids.com.
Photo Credit: jugglingwithkids.comEI Tip: If you find a special spider you’d like to see a little closer, use the GeoSafari® Jr. Critter Habitat to take an up-close look! Built-in magnifiers reveal amazing details, while built-in air holes keep creepy crawlies safe until it’s time to release them back where they were caught.
No matter where you walk or what you see, a trip into nature never disappoints! If your kids can’t get enough of nature, check out the brand new GeoSafari® Jr. Talking Wildlife Camera. The camera features 130 amazing wildlife images and speaks 200 fun animal facts in the voice of Robert Irwin. Kids choose between Fact and Quiz mode to test their memories and make nature even more fun. The perfect present for your little nature lover!
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Fun Ways to Stay Connected to Nature – Outdoors and At Home!
The leaves are changing and crisp fall air is upon us…the perfect time to head out into nature! Not only does time spent in nature promote exercise and fresh air (duh), but it has also been shown to build confidence, promote creativity and imagination, and reduce stress and fatigue (we’re all feeling a bit of both these days, no?). Since we’re all spending more time indoors now, getting out into nature is more important than ever before. (Not to panic you, but Nature Deficit Disorder is actually a real thing.)Fall is the perfect time to get outside and explore! The weather is brisk and cool and there are so many amazing things to discover and do, both on your walk and after, like:Count the Colors!
On your walk: Colorful leaves are one of the most amazing things about fall. See if you can spot brown, yellow, orange, red, and multicolored leaves. Take a few of your favorites home with you and…At home: Try printing them in paper clay and painting them, turning them into autumn suncatchers, making crayon rubbings, and more. While your kids are creating, you can share this simple explanation for color-changing leaves (and find other awesome fall leaf activities), from the EI blog. Don’t forget the apple cider!
Photo credit: artfulparent.comEI Tip: Leaf peeping is even more fun with the GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars® Extreme™! Kids can magnify what they see AND hear with this set of kid-friendly binoculars featuring 3x magnification and built-in audio amplification.Watch for Critters!
On your walk: Stop, stand still (a challenge, we know), stay quiet, and look around. The critters you could see depend on where you’re walking, but you just might spot furry friends like rabbits, groundhogs, and chipmunks. Turn your gaze toward the ground and you see if you can spy any ants (look for the mounded dirt that marks their colonies), stinkbugs, ladybugs, or beetles. Check the trees for woodpeckers, hawks, jays, and squirrels. Watch your heads though – squirrels are scavenging for nuts in the fall!To add to the fun try a scavenger hunt that allows you and your little ones to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of fall! You'll love these free scavenger hunt printables from teachingmama.org. Get out and explore!At home: Check your hunt list and talk about all the things you found, and what you'll be on the lookout for next time. This may help inspire more curious questions and learning fun! Here are 5 Random Fall Facts facts you can add to the mix!EI Tip: If your kids can’t get enough of the amazing, organized activity of ants, bring home the GeoSafari® Ant Factory, an escape-proof ant habitat perfect for observing ants in action. Comes complete with mail-in ant certificate.
Scope Out the Spiders!
On your walk: Get out into nature early enough on a cool, fall day, and you’ll be rewarded with a spooky spattering of silky spiderwebs! Covered in morning dew, they’re easy to spot in the trees, on the bushes, and suspended between upright objects. With more than 45,000 different species of spiders found around the world, you’re bound to see something pretty cool. (Interesting note – only about a dozen types of spiders can harm humans!) Take the time to inspect their webs and point out the different weaving patterns and…At home: Make your own spider web, using a paper plate, hole punch, kid-safe plastic needle, and yarn, following these simple instructions from JugglingWithKids.com.
Photo Credit: jugglingwithkids.comEI Tip: If you find a special spider you’d like to see a little closer, use the GeoSafari® Jr. Critter Habitat to take an up-close look! Built-in magnifiers reveal amazing details, while built-in air holes keep creepy crawlies safe until it’s time to release them back where they were caught.
No matter where you walk or what you see, a trip into nature never disappoints! If your kids can’t get enough of nature, check out the brand new GeoSafari® Jr. Talking Wildlife Camera. The camera features 130 amazing wildlife images and speaks 200 fun animal facts in the voice of Robert Irwin. Kids choose between Fact and Quiz mode to test their memories and make nature even more fun. The perfect present for your little nature lover!
READ MORE
Posted on Jul 8, 2014
Summer Learning Adventure: How to Find Ladybugs in Your Backyard Did you know there are several species of bugs living in your backyard? In this segment of Backyard Bug Adventures, Brent trekked through his backyard to find baby Ladybugs. Check out his awesome discovery in the video below. http://youtu.be/rmYh9qhTaSI
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Summer Learning Adventure: How to Find Ladybugs in Your Backyard Did you know there are several species of bugs living in your backyard? In this segment of Backyard Bug Adventures, Brent trekked through his backyard to find baby Ladybugs. Check out his awesome discovery in the video below. http://youtu.be/rmYh9qhTaSI
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Posted on Aug 22, 2012
Brent’s Backyard Bug Adventures: Brown Widows [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p0LO7Bl58&feature=youtu.be]Hello and welcome back to Backyard Bug Adventures! Brent Geppert here. I am the toys and games manager at Educational Insights. Okay so tonight we’re going to go on a bug adventure. We’re going to look for the elusive, the amazing, Brown Widow. Not the Black Widow—the Brown Widow Spider. Let’s go check ‘em out. I’ve got tons of them in my Backyard!So you might be wondering, why are we going to be looking for the Brown Widows? What about the Black Widows? Well, pretty much all of the Black Widows have been replaced by Brown Widows, basically a cousin of the Black Widow. They are similar to the Black Widow, but as you can see—here, we found one—they are a little bit different.They have the red hourglass, as you can see, on the bottom of the abdomen. Actually, their bite is not as venomous as the Black Widow, but we still want to keep our distance as much as possible.We’ve got a nice Brown Widow here. Check her out! You can see the red hourglass. You see how her legs are striped? That’s the telltale sign of a Brown Widow. Earlier I said that we should keep our distance, but you know what, I can’t help myself. I have to try to at least capture one for our bug viewer! I don’t recommend doing this at home for any kids that are watching. If you’re really careful, these are not too difficult to catch.Here is our Brown Widow Spider. Beautiful example, look at that perfect view of the hourglass abdomen and striped legs.Alright, well thanks for joining me on Backyard Bug Adventures. Hopefully you had a good time watching us explore my backyard for Brown Widows. Believe me, there’s all kinds of great spiders and other kinds of bugs that come out at night. So hopefully, you can have your very own nighttime bug adventure as well. So let’s return our lady-friend back to her home and we will see you next time! Take Care.
READ MORE
Brent’s Backyard Bug Adventures: Brown Widows [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p0LO7Bl58&feature=youtu.be]Hello and welcome back to Backyard Bug Adventures! Brent Geppert here. I am the toys and games manager at Educational Insights. Okay so tonight we’re going to go on a bug adventure. We’re going to look for the elusive, the amazing, Brown Widow. Not the Black Widow—the Brown Widow Spider. Let’s go check ‘em out. I’ve got tons of them in my Backyard!So you might be wondering, why are we going to be looking for the Brown Widows? What about the Black Widows? Well, pretty much all of the Black Widows have been replaced by Brown Widows, basically a cousin of the Black Widow. They are similar to the Black Widow, but as you can see—here, we found one—they are a little bit different.They have the red hourglass, as you can see, on the bottom of the abdomen. Actually, their bite is not as venomous as the Black Widow, but we still want to keep our distance as much as possible.We’ve got a nice Brown Widow here. Check her out! You can see the red hourglass. You see how her legs are striped? That’s the telltale sign of a Brown Widow. Earlier I said that we should keep our distance, but you know what, I can’t help myself. I have to try to at least capture one for our bug viewer! I don’t recommend doing this at home for any kids that are watching. If you’re really careful, these are not too difficult to catch.Here is our Brown Widow Spider. Beautiful example, look at that perfect view of the hourglass abdomen and striped legs.Alright, well thanks for joining me on Backyard Bug Adventures. Hopefully you had a good time watching us explore my backyard for Brown Widows. Believe me, there’s all kinds of great spiders and other kinds of bugs that come out at night. So hopefully, you can have your very own nighttime bug adventure as well. So let’s return our lady-friend back to her home and we will see you next time! Take Care.
READ MORE
