Backyard Friends

We have wonderful nature to observe right here in our own backyards of The Woodlands. If your child is outside, he/she can hear the birds, listen to the squirrels chatter, and watch the tiny worlds existing in the soil beneath our feet. Fall is a wonderful time for nature exploration. Dig up some soil at home, especially near your water sprinkler system, and you will find some earthworm friends among other living creatures.

Today we explore our backyard friends, focusing on earthworms. The children will bring home a habitat they created for a real worm that will also come home with them! The children learn that these worms are the cultivators and natural fertilizers for our soil. Worm castings (waste) are an essential part of our garden ecosystem. The children learn how to create a real worm farm with one pound of worms (can find them at Academy in the bait refrigerator), fresh dirt and dry leaves, some dried manure from the garden center, and a few strips of newspaper. You can feed the worm farm every few days with a handful of kitchen scraps such as oranage peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, carrot peels, etc. The worms will make rich soil for your garden. At the end of a month, you dump the fresh soil in your yard and begin again with the same worms. OK--so you can also just enjoy the worm they bring home today and then let it go to work in your backyard. :)

Books We Read: Wonderful Worms (Linda Glaser); Diary of a Worm (Doreen Cronin)

Next Week: Backyard Friends--Preparing for Winter