Keeping young minds and hands engaged during a pandemic is a challenge. I have 2 small children, ages 3 and 6. It is a daily struggle to not give in to all things digital. Sometimes the answers are right under your feet…
My kids love earthworms and are fascinated by them. They are constantly turning over rocks or anything they can lift in our yard to discover what’s underneath. Last week, after a hard day of digging in the backyard, my 3 year old asked, “Why do we need worms and what are they doing in the ground?”
What better way to answer his question and make an animal habitat than to get our hands dirty and find some worms to observe! So we made our own WORMERY, and you can too.
STEP 1: Gather your supplies!
- 2-liter plastic bottle
- small plastic water bottle
- scissors
- tape
- dark construction paper
- soil
- sand
- dried leaves
- carrot peels (food for the worms)
STEP 2: Build the wormery.
Make sure your 2-liter bottle is clean. Remove the top 1/3 of the bottle. Set aside for later. Place the small water bottle in the center of the 2-liter bottle. This will keep the worms from hiding in the center of the bottle.
Fill 3/4 ths of the container with alternating layers of sand and soil. Spray each layer with water so it is damp (not too wet). NOTE: It is important to have distinct layers. That way when the worms start to burrow you will be able to see how worms mix soil.
Add some food for the worms. We added some carrot peels and celery tops. Top off with a little more soil and dry leaves.
STEP 3: Find some earthworms.
This part was so much fun. My kids were so excited to look for worms and see how many they could find. Once the earthworms are gathered put them on top and watch them burrow.
STEP 4: Wait
Wrap a piece of dark construction paper around the bottle. Let it sit for 3-5 days before removing the paper. My kids didn’t even last a day before looking! The longer you wait the more you will see how the worms have combined all the layers.
Have your kids make observations and record their findings about what they see!
Just after a few days our layers were practically gone and we could see tunnels that the worms made.
Step 5: Release the worms.
After about a week release your worms back to the garden.
Share with us what you discover. NHSM would love to see your wormery! Send us pictures to rbieretz@marylandnature.org