Here is another of the pets we keep around the house....Mimi gave Q a bowl full of nightcrawlers and they are the perfect pets! They are quiet, don't eat much, easy to maintain, can't run away when Quinn wants to hold them, and if she drops one too hard, they don't have any bones to break! Pretty much toddler-proof!
We keep them in a plastic dishpan but really any large container would work. You might want to poke drain holes in it in the bottom. We simply mist the dirt every day or so as it dries out. The worms get more active the moister they get, but too much water can drown them. You can add shredded newspaper if you want, and also a few vegetable peels as scraps for them to munch.
You can buy the nightcrawlers at Walmart, Academy, Sports Authority or any good sporting goods store in the fishing area, and I would imagine most gardening centers would have worms, too!
Older children might enjoy having a spray bottle of water to mist the worms daily.
I did a worm unit when I taught first grade and also in preschool, and there are TONS of great worm books out there. I got bunches from the public library. Help your child learn about worms through this great pet and incorporate literacy as you read and research together.
You could add writing by making signs with the worms' names, the "address" of their home....kids could build a cardboard or wood or paper "worm house"......
I see lots of room for creativity and fun with an activity that doesn't cost much at all!
No comments:
Post a Comment