Chapter 5: Ants

Session 1. Book Exploring – Bugs Dictionary

29/6

Leave Cutter Ants

The leafcutter ants carry the leafpieces back to their underground nests where the leaves are chewed into a pulp. The decaying pulp is stored with ant feces and fungus spores, and strands of fungus eventually grow on the decomposing pulp. This fungus is the crop that these ants eat; the ants do not eat the leaves.

[Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/ant/leafcutter.shtml]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpWuDdroOIM&w=420&h=315]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24&w=560&h=315]

*[Source:http://www.arkive.org/leaf-cutter-ant/atta-cephalotes/video-08.html]

17/8

Continued hs on “Insects Homes”.

I was curious about how leave cutter ants grow fungus n searched video about it. It was amazing watching hundreds or thousands of ants working simultaneously. Each and everyone of them just know what to do.

Sdiao requested to watch “Bugs War” as he had stopped for a while. Watched “leave cutter ant” vs. “house spider”.

Session 2a. Video Learning – Ants

Sang the popular song of The ants go marching while learning numbering from 1 to 10. It will be more fun if you lead your child to march around the house while singing out loud.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjw2A3QU8Qg&w=560&h=315]

Session 2b. Movie Learning – Antz

We watched the movie “Antz” as our family activity in order to understand more about insects.

I noticed that the “drinks” which ants drank in their pub might be the aphids.

Kin played his lego after about an hour learning. He built a walkway with shop and bridge. When I spotted a lego figurine without head and asked him, he said that is lego costume. Haha…

Session 3. Insect Observation – Ants

Started a new book as I found the book from Hin’s collection.
Told Kin about all the “Ants” types from the Insect Dictionary.

Searched online whether ants can swim as we watched the movie “Antz” yday. It depends on the species, according to a new study. [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/06/video-most-tree-ants-can-swim-their-lives]

In noon, Kin caught some ants and put them into the a container. He then asked me what does ant eat. Before I could answer, he said to himself that ant eats bread. So he asked for some bread to put into the container. All the ants escaped except the one which was trapped by the spider web built by a spider lived in the container earlier.
21/6

23/6

Both MonkeySons observed and caught insects wherever they are – by the road, by the drainage, near the garbage dump, garden, park and etc.

Today they both squat down by the drainage in front of the shops just to watch how ants crawl and march.

3/8

Hin caught a bunch of ants and kept them in his mechanical pencil leads box. Convinced him to let go of those ants. He dumped the ants onto the bread but none of them stayed. Perhaps they were looking for their way back home.

Session 5: Ants Discussion

 20/6

During morning chat, Kin told me that he wants to keep the “silk ants” as he can use their glue to draw, and spray the painting with their black ink. He also plan to train leave cutter ant to do cut and paste art. Suggested him to open an “Ants Art Gallery”. He could even train the ant to draw human portrait. Bravo!