The Ants Go Marching On…
We were so excited to learn that we won the Ant Farm from Uncle Milton at Blogger Bash. Immediately after receiving our Harvester Ants in the mail my children were bopping up and down. We set the Ant Farm up with sand, and we had read the instructions which explained how to care for our little critters. As much as I appreciate the role the ant has in nature, bringing them in my home was a new challenge. However, I want to encourage my children to develop an appreciation of nature and see what information they absorb from having a small colony.
Uncle Milton creates toys that focus on fun, learning and, on occasion, the intersection of pop culture. The Ant-Man Ant Farm does all three. As a fan of Marvel, I think these types of creations are perfect to expose children to science. Thus, the adult who is terrified of any living creature with more than two legs was open to having these guests come into her home.
The ants are not included in the package. There is a certificate included and the ants can be ordered online. When you receive the package, you will place the ants in the fridge for 15 minutes so they are sleepy which makes transitioning them to the Ant Farm much easier. Once these guys wake up, get ready for some fun!
Putting the ants in the farm kept us in suspense.
Mommy University Presents
What Ant Farms Teach Us
Responsibility
While we generally recognize that dogs, cats, and other forms of traditional pets require adequate care, we learned that ants do as well. The Harvester Ant lives on average three months but they must have sufficient water and food. Each day, my son would check on his hardworking ants to ensure they had what they needed to survive.
Appreciation of Nature
Watching ants marching on has sparked a genuine interest with my kids to learn about insects and the benefits of having them in our ecosystem. On a recent trip to the Philly Zoo, my children absolutely had a blast pretending to be ants in the Children’s Building as they transported eggs to different areas. As they watched the ants digging tunnels, we have discussed how ants communicate and organize their homes.
Kids love when they can apply what they learn about and my kids loved pretending to be ants at the Philly Zoo.
Diligence
Ants are the hardest working creatures on the planet. They are extremely well-organized and each one has a role that is critical to the success of their community. Throughout the day, you will see them building tunnels, creating spaces designed for specific purposes, and they even take time to clean themselves. Frankly, each day we enjoyed checking into see what they had accomplished.
Anatomy
Ants are intrinsically different from the human body and they are designed for different roles on this planet. The instructions from Uncle Milton have some great information about ants and how their bodies are designed. Equipped with a magnifying glass, all of us spent a lot of time observing ants and discussing how their bodies are unique.
This is a snippet of the instructions included but one of our favorite parts was when the kids compared the image to what they saw using the magnifying glass.
Ants may fascinate kids but they also offer many teachable moments. Ultimately, talking to your children as they observe and engage with ants is important during the time that you have an Ant Farm. If they develop a true appreciation and want to expand their colony, Uncle Milton equips the Ant-Man Ant Farm with a tube that connects to other Ant-Man Ant Farms. Ant Farms have been a toy that kids have owned for decades for these reasons and more.
Ant-Man Ant Farm can be purchased on Amazon for $14.99 (affiliate link).
My kids have been asking for an ant farm! I need to check this out
It’s so cool! It combines the love of bugs with the love of superheroes. It’s perfect!!