Bug Day: Earning the Brownie Bugs Badge

Girl Scout camp is a natural place for your Brownies to earn their Bugs badge. Last week at day camp, we celebrated mid-week with "Bug Day" in our unit.

We started our day with a Bug Hike. Each girl had a small container for a bug box and magnifying glass for collecting bugs along the way. "Bugs" wound up being loosely defined. We wound up with a vast collection of everything from mosquitoes and ants to spiders and slugs. But the girls loved exploring what's down below and slowing down for a bit. They truly didn't want to end their hike!

The girls also took time to observe and learn about the bugs they collected. I found this great bug observation worksheet on Pinterest. Even the girls who admitted at the beginning of the day that bugs freaked them out loved studying their insects and other creatures!

We also did a couple of bug-related crafts. A very quick one to do is the coffee-filter butterfly, which I think is a Girl Scout camp standard. The girls decorate their coffee filters with markers, then get the filters wet to spread the colors. When the coffee filters are dry, they use a pipe cleaner to create the body and the antennae.

We also gave each girl a small container of clay to make their own bug creations. They were allowed to use any crafts supplies or found items, including rocks, leaves and sticks, to make their insects. I was impressed with some of their creative interpretations - from bugs sitting on sticks to carving designs of snail shells to entire scenes!

Rounding out our bug badge day were a discussion about what we know and want to learn about bugs, creation of a team bugs poster that hung in our unit house all week and learning the "Wings of a Butterfly" song for our camp skit.

If I had the wings of a butterfly

If I had the wings of a butterfly (butterfly). 

Up to the hills I would fly. (I'd fly)

There I would remain as a butterfly. 
There to remain till I die.

Chorus! (pronounced ch-or-us) 

Oo la, Oo la, Oo la, Oo la. Repeat.

Oo la, Oo la, Oo la, Oo la. Once More.

Oo la, Oo la la la, Oo la. Last Time.

Oo la, Oo la la la, Oo la la.

Second verse....

(Replace butterfly with skeeter, airplane, dragon fly, fairy, chicken, etc., ending last verse with "If I had the wings of a Girl Scout.)

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