Earthworms

We've been waiting for a while for the weather to warm up enough to go out and look for worms. It's still quite chilly out, but it's quick and easy to flip over a log. Earthworms are a very easy study with a toddler, mainly because they are all over the place. They are also an animal that a little kid can hold and handle. It's always much more engaging for a kid to learn about something if there's a live example right in front of them that they can touch and examine. When I was little, I was constantly out digging for worms and trying to find the biggest nightcrawler I could. So it is fun and nostalgic to do this with my daughter. 

Here are the main points that I will teach my toddler today:

1. Worms are invertebrates. 
2. Worms have no ears, teeth or eyes. They have spots on their segments that are sensitive to light. They breathe through their skin. They have four hearts. They are hermaphrodites. Overall, worms have very interesting anatomy. 
3. Worms are very sensitive to light. They can't be in the sunlight for more than an hour, or they will dry out. They are covered in slime, and need to be in dark, moist environments. 
4. Worms help the Earth. They aerate the soil, making it better for plants to grow. They decompose decaying matter and create more dirt. They are a source of food for many, many species, some of which we ourselves eat. 

Books

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  • Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
  • Worm Weather by Jean Taft
  • Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

Activities

• Experiment/ Outdoors: Worm farm. We went outside and flipped over a log to find some earthworms. We also got some soil and dead leaves and brought it all inside to put on a tray. We sorted through the dirt to count out the earthworms (eight), and took note of other tiny animals. We poured all of the dirt into a tall glass cylinder, then piled the leaves on top. Evie also put a bite of her pbj sandwich in there, saying she was sharing with her friends. We took a few moments to observe the worms on white paper, talking about how they move and feel. Evie held one of the worms and just stared at it for a while. Then I said that they are very sensitive to the light, so if we wanted to be good friends to them, we had to let them dig down into the moist soil so that they could feel safe and comfortable. We set the worm farm in the bathroom, and will check on them periodically throughout the week. At the end of the week, we will put them back in the garden where they belong. Evie was very gentle with the worms, and I enjoy any opportunity to have her handle something small and living. I want her to learn to think of other beings and what they need, even if they are nearly at the bottom of the food chain. 

• Observation: The robins are back, so we spent some time watching them out the window as they hunted for worms in the yard. We counted the birds, and watched them tap the ground and then pull up a worm to eat. Worms are food for a lot of animals, and they are part of many food webs. 
• Pretend play: Wiggle on the floor like a worm! See who can wriggle the farthest. Pretend to burrow under pillows as though digging a hole into the dirt. 
• Experiment: Growing gooey worms. We found this little test tube kit at our local Dollar Tree. They're just little plastic worms that grow when you put them in water (and they get pretty slimy, too!). We will monitor their growth over the next couple of days. It also came with a sheet with some pretty interesting facts. For instance, there can be upwards of one million worms in one acre of land. Also, the largest worm ever found was in South Africa, and it was 22 FEET long!!!
• Demonstration: Use a flexible straw to explain worm segments and how they move. Contract and expand the straw as though it were crawling. Have toddler twist the straw in every direction. Describe how worms are invertebrates, which is why they can twist any way they want and fit through small places.
• Activity: Worm coloring pages. 
• Video: Wild Kratts: Mystery of the Squirmy Wormy. On Amazon Prime. This was a great episode. I even learned something new from it: worms cannot drown! There is a myth perpetuated that worms come up when it rains because otherwise they would drown in their burrows. This is, in fact, false!