Preparing for Worms

Yesterday afternoon, after the initial dismay at being presented with pet worms, I gathered the girls to help me prepare the new worm bed. We ripped up newspaper into shreds to provide good bedding for the pet worms. Then we shook in a little bit of their dirt so they would have some dirt to wander through. I used a colander to sift the big pieces and the rocks out of the mess of dirt. Kira and Marisa had fun observing how the fine soil went through the holes while the bigger pieces of soil and rocks and roots stayed in the bowl. I used this opportunity to help them understand the process and purpose of sifting.

After we found the worms - they were rather small - we placed them in their new home with some bread to make them happy.

Today, Grandma Janet added a couple of worms to our collection.

I'm really looking forward to this lesson. I already explained to Kira that the worms will eat our leftover food so we won't have to throw it in the garbage and send it out to the landfills. I also told her that the worms will make their own soil... and how they make it. She was only slightly disturbed by the concept of her worms creating their own soil... I wonder if she realizes that she's been playing in the creations of their bodily functions all this time?