We read some great books that told us all about worms, their parts, and their role in our ecosystem- (super science fun!)
Garden Wigglers
and Wonderful Worms
A great big bunch of worms gave us a chance to observe them and even hold them as we transferred a few at a time to trays.
We put together a worm farm so that we could observe their tunnel building prowess. We used a big jar, filled it with dirt, added some worms and put a lid with holes on top to keep the worms in the jar.
Covering it with black paper helps these nocturnal creatures do their thing.
By afternoon, several tunnels had been dug. We'll keep watching throughout the week and release them into the garden when we're done.
Inspired by the book about a little inchworm
Inch by Inch,
we used gummy worms for measuring. Each of us was given one. We had to compare our gummy worm with inchworms hidden around our play yard. We used words like bigger, littler, longer, shorter, taller, etc. (a great pre-math activity!)
When we were finished, we ate them!
After reading Diary of a Worm (we loved it!)
and Bob and Otto, (loved it too!)
we were each given a pretend worm. Some of us gave them a name and a gender. The worms proceeded to create masterpieces as we dipped them in a variety of colors of paint and helped them to move on paper. This was great activity for eye-hand coordination, language/vocabulary, tactile sensory and creativity.
Painting by, Rosy the Worm.
Painting by, Smurfette the Worm
Painting by, Wyatt the Worm
Painting by Jack, the Worm
Our worms are quite the artists!
Gummy worm science allowed us to make a prediction, do an experiment and then observe and write about what happened. We each had a lab sheet to record our observations.
With the gummy worm of our choice, we measured it, placed it in a clear cup (so we can observe what happens), covered it with water and made our prediction. Some of us thought the worms would change the color of the water. We also thought the worms would swim in the water!
None of our predictions were on target! The worms grew as the gel which they are made of soaked up the water. That's not all, though. The sugar in the worms dissolved in water and they didn't taste so good. We compared the taste of the water-soaked gummy worms and the regular ones. Hands down, we liked the regular ones better.
This song we've been singing on and off all week fit right in with this activity:
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
Guess I'll go eat worms!
Long, thin, slimy ones,
Short, fat, juicy ones,
Itsy bitsy, fuzzy, wuzzy worms.
Down goes the first one,
Down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm.
Long, thin, slimy ones,
Short, fat, juicy ones,
Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy, wuzzy worms!
EWWWW!
Making worms with play dough is a great fine motor activity. It really works the muscles in the hand that are used for writing.
What a workout! We got down on the floor and crawled like worms through an obstacle course made up of chairs, tables and tunnels. Since worms only have a head and tail, we struggled not to use our hands or knees. It was hard! At least worms have bristles that help them along. We didn't even have those.
We decided it's not easy being a worm...
