Marianna, Elora, and Kyrielle were observed digging in the dirt. When asked about it, they indicated that they were hunting for worms. “We need somewhere to put the worms” Alayna explained. When the educator asked what materials are needed for the worms, the children began discussing the different items, a bin, dirt, and water. The next day the educators brought a big container, buckets and shovels, and a paper shredder, along with various printed articles that discussed fun facts about worms, what worms need for their habitat and what they eat. We discovered, by conducting research with the articles, that worms need layers of shredded paper (for areas to breathe) and dirt for their habitat.
The children became entomologists as they went hunting for worms. Using the buckets and shovels the children began to dig some wet dirt from the ground to put in the buckets. The children were also given gardening gloves, magnifying glasses and small containers to place their worms in. While outside, the children spent time looking for the worms. “I bet there are tons under the rocks” Elora explained. Some of the children went looking under rocks, while some felt that if they dug deep enough they would find some.
The children found over 20 worms total. This further developed the children’s sense of belonging as they worked together to find the worms, taking turns digging and helping each other to turn over rocks.
The educators had printed off some articles regarding what worms need to survive, their habitat, their food, and any amount of water needed. Once we did our research, the children helped create the habitat layering the paper that they shredded and the dirt. Each child then took a turn placing the worms in their new habitat. This helped create a sense of well-being by understanding that all living creatures on our planet must be taken care of properly. “Look how long this one is!” Ethan exclaimed as he put the worm in the bin. “This one is so tiny!” Devyn said. After this observation, the educators decided to bring out some rulers so the children could measure the worms. “This worm is 9cm!” Alayna told Devyn, Devyn measured her tiny one and it was only 2cm. Using magnifying glasses, we watched the worms burry themselves deep in the mud. We made sure to spray some water to keep the ground moist to make it easier for the worms to descend into the dirt. We talked about the importance of worms and how they turn the soil around so that the ground does not get mouldy. We also discussed how worm poop is a fertilizer and makes the ground ready for plants and flowers to grow.
The next day the children used scissors to cut small amounts of fruit peel to feed to the worms. We also learned that worms have a head and a tail, the pointy end is where their head is. We learned that worms breathe through their skin and the reason they come out of the ground when it rains is because the ground soaks up too much water, so the worms need to make it to the surface for air. The children created a sense of belonging and well-being for not only the worms, but for themselves as well by working as a team to create the habitat and gather supplies needed to ensure the worms are well taken care of. The children were engaged throughout the entire learning process, expressing their thoughts and feelings towards the worms and what they felt was necessary to ensure the worms were safe and well taken care of.After the children learned that worms help to turn over the ground to ensure there is ample air within the ground and their poop fertilizes the ground, they wanted to plant some flowers in the fertilized dirt.
