try watching terragreen videos with your kids, fascinating family friendly channel about just this

and most lil critters arent that dangerous

try to get one of those small fish tanks, fill it up with soil and plant a small plant and then you can start dropping small creatures into there to observe them for a bit, research them with your kids and then release them into their natural habitat or keep them as a pet :)

Think about it for a moment: it’s a lot more frightening for them… As most of the time we’re a much bigger creature compared to them. How much bigger are you than a mouse or some small bird? A 1000 times? 2000? More? you are frightening them when you’re getting close, they are not frightening you ;)

But please, do keep in mind that wildlife doesn’t need to be ‘catched’ or even ‘touched’ to be appreciated or observed (or just to be liked), they’re living creatures that should be respected, not fluffy toys to play with. Touching a young bird for example could make it so that its parents won’t recognize it anymore and will stop feeding it. Which won’t end well for said birdy.

Observing them is much safer (for them and also for you if you’re really that afraid ;) and not less exciting if you’re asking me.

Birds, for example, can be watched from afar. It’s even simpler as they won’t notice you. Which is made easier using binoculars (and, yes, when I’m going out I always carry a tiny pair with me just for that). Depending the binoculars you use, pick one pair that has a real close focusing distance, you can also use them to easily watch plants and tiny insects. Which is at least as exciting imho ;)

If you want to get your kids interested in nature, maybe a great starting point could be what’s called “nature journaling”, aka the practice of keeping a notebook filled with notes and drawings, sketches, painting of the little things they do notice, whatever (there is nos silly subject, even a mere stone can make for a great sketch/watercolor, one of the last ‘silly’ sketch I did was of small foot prints of pigeons made on a fresh slab of concrete).

Nature journaling will help them learn to look at the world around them, even in the most mundane places: go draw some vegetables from the fridge, or fruits or say an onion from the kitchen top. Flowers are also amazing subjects than can easily be found… everywhere. It will also help them appreciate the world, its richness and its endless variety (instead of being afraid of differences and be willing to get rid of them). Nature journaling can work great even with very young kids (old enough to know how to write/sketch): it doesn’t need to be a work of art (imho, it certainly doesn’t need to be, let them express themselves freely, just be there to encourage them not to judge, but that’s just my opinion).

There are quite a few great how-to books on the subject but if you want advice from someone I consider a master in the field, look no further than John Muir Laws YT channel, this is the intro episode to a series where he explains what it is and how to do it, but his channel is literally filled to the brim with amazing content (and sketches and notes), oftentimes hidden in his longer videos. Take some time to explore them. BTW, his books are much better and easier to navigate than any videos. They are among those rare books I would recommend to anyone wanting to get started or even to get better (a lot).

Here, a very short intro by someone else that tells you you don’t need to spend a lot of money to do nature journaling, which is true (some colors, a pen/pencil, a notebook): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kVmzeeK0ZM.

In this one a mother is commenting on some pages made by her 7 year old son.

Encouraging kids to look around them and then to make something out of it, I can’t think of anything better to encourage them (and also have some great time ;))

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I can’t speak for the creatures you mentioned, but if you live in a place with a bit of outdoor space and some birds, try sitting quietly and offering something like seeds or suet that they like on a nearby table. Move the food progressively closer and eventually, with enough time you’ll build sufficient trust to hand feed them. I’ve had a bird friend for years now. Giving him a morsel is one of the highlights of my day.

It doesn’t sound like your fear is based on rationality, as this is the first time I hear of someone being afraid of small animals in general. Any chance this is a phobia of some sort? If so, general advice probably won’t help you much.

“Enduring” small animals isn’t really a learned trait, as most small animals are harmless. Liking them is a different matter; I don’t know what causes a person to go from neutral to positive when it comes to animals, but I would think being around them and having positive interactions with them is a good start.