Oops — there I go tripping over a mound of dirt called an ant bed!

As spring burst forth with flowers blooming, warm weather with wisps of spring winds, the familiar sight of anthills starts to show on my driveway and in my yard. Instead of thinking of these little creatures as a nuisance, let’s look at these energetic little fellows and see how their character traits can help us in teaching our young children!

Take time to observe these little fellows at a safe distance; you might be surprised at what you will learn.

r Ants work hard. Young children need a routine to depend on and ants are a perfect example of an animal that stays in a routine to do big tasks.

r Ants don’t wait to be told what to do. They are self-starters; just observe the worker ant.

r Ants cooperate with each other. It is important for your young child to learn to get along with other people. The virtue of working together as a team is observed in the ant colony.

r Ants work in the summer to prepare for the winter. This teaches your young child how to plan in their tasks to do around the home.

Another neat little spring creature that you can find on a school playground as well as your yard is a doodlebug! When I take young children out to play on the playground, we look for clearly defined circles where we know a doodlebug resides. They are called doodlebugs because this little animal makes a track that zigzags in every direction as it crawls across the dry sand looking for a place to dig its pit.

Carefully slip down a long piece of pine straw into the hole, keep it down in the hole for a few minutes and gently pull the pine straw up. It’s like going fishing. At the end of the pine straw, you will be pleasantly surprised to see a little doodlebug curled up at the end. After taking a few minutes to observe, gently lower the doodlebug back down into its hole on the piece of pine straw.

Remember: Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. Take time with your child to look and find a four-leaf clover! If you have the luck of the Irish, you might just see a rainbow in the sky.

Beth Pinyerd lives in Daphne and serves as director of younger children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.

Her column appears regularly in The Bulletin.