bugsMooooommmm! my little one yelled up the stairs.

When he screams like that, I don't wait to hear more, I just run downstairs in case something bad has really happened. But this time, before I got down there, he revealed the true crisis. "A buuuuggggg!"

Turns out the cat caught--and killed--the biggest, ickiest waterbug ever. If you don't know what a waterbug is, they are those huge cockroaches with wings. YUCK!

Just as I went to clean up the bug mess and throw it away, my son starts begging me to show him. "Show you?! Yucky," I replied without a thought.

The next thing I knew, we were doing an autopsy with a plastic fork on the poor bug. Then the kid starts counting the bug's legs. It was just a flash, but in it, I realized something. We were having a science lesson! Who knew? Since then we've gone looking for worms, slugs and ants.

Now are any of these creatures my fave? Not at all. But you know what? The look on my sons' faces as we try to understand more about nature together is completely, entirely worth it. For more science project ideas join The Science Spot here on CM!

Are your kids into bugs?