Skip to main content

4 Hour Class - Playground Detectives 2: WORMS!

 After many days of rain we began to notice that alot of worms had made their way onto the playground floor.  Our curiosity was piqued!


In order to bring this discovery into the classroom the teachers brought in bins of soil to play with.


 After some digging around we found some real, live worms in the bins! 
That was when the questions began.  


What do worms eat? How do worms see? Can a worm live when it has been cut in half?


We took a book out of the library to find some answers.


Here are some of the things that we learned about worms:
  • they don't have eyes
  • they can grow a new head or tail, but will not survive being cut in half
  • they eat leaves, grass, dead trees (and roots), and food scraps
  • they do not like the sun and will die if they are exposed for more than an hour or two
  • their poop is ok to touch
  • there are no "girl" worms or "boy" worms - all worms are both!
  • the reason that worms squirm around in your hand is because they like all parts of their bodies to be touched at the same time.


We also did some worm-inspired art!

Worms in dirt

Worms digging tunnels


Then we did a worm search! 
This involved guessing where we might find worms that had come out of the wet ground and onto the pavement or playground floor. So we made a list of some of the playgrounds we know and guessed if we would be able to find worms there. Here are the results:


We chose 3 parks: West, Climbing Spider, and Mushroom and headed out to see if we were right!

Much to our surprise, we discovered that the only park that had worms was our own!

Except for one dead worm that we found at Climbing Spider Park

Here are the results of our search:


One of the other preschool classes heard about our adventures and asked if we would come and share with them. We gladly accepted the invitation and brought our bins of dirt and our newly aquired knowledge and joined them at circle time one day. We told them the facts that we learned and invited them to dig in the bins with us.




Then we all went out to the playground and released the worms outside.

At the playground we made an interesting discovery

We crowded around to take a look at...

...REAL LIVE WORM POOP!!!
In the weeks following our worm exploration, we are still eager to find and quick to point out worms!

This one was at Burkeville Park.

Keep your eyes open you just might see some worms (or worm poop) too!












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MWF 4 Hour Class When I’m writing a documentation, one of the hardest things for me is to decide what pictures, stories and reflections I’ll share with you. There are so many joyful, meaningful moments and every day’s learning experiences! As I was selecting some of the class’ photos I found myself wondering: if we consider the classroom’s environment, the third teacher, what is mother nature’s role in a child’s learning and development? The exploration of natural environments nurture children’s curiosity and holistic learning as much, or even more, than a classroom. Some of the benefit of connecting children with nature include: supporting creativity and problem solving, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, promoting social emotional development. We see children as innate scientists, artists, builders… full of wonders and curiosity they can nourish and experiment while they are playing in nature. Exploring the snow  Olivia tested her movements in designing sno...
Post a Comment
Read more
3 Year old class - T/Th In our 3’s class, we had a conversation about using kitchen appliance and some safety rules around the grater the children were about to use. Luca, Victoria and Carter rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands. I think it must feel like a new experience. They  children watched me assemble the grater eagerly waiting to have a turn to operate the appliance. Everyday life is full of challenges and children need to test themselves in order to make decisions that is right for them as educators we need to show we are trusting them to follow the safety rules we have informed them. We feel from giving children these experiences they handle appliances safely and with a purpose, understand consequence to action.     Victoria places the lid on the Grater  Luca pushes the potatoes        Victoria scraps the grated potatoes.        Luca is placing the potatoes i ...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 and 4 Year Old Classes – Holiday Time

The preschool 3 and 4 year old morning classes have been busy preparing for the holidays over the past few weeks. Along with many other activities, each child has made a gift for their families. These gifts are now wrapped and ready to be sent home, and we are sure they will be well received! We also showed the children our Preschool Donation Box and spoke about the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than us. We have decorated a Christmas tree and created two very large snowman (which will be on display at the family potluck!) It was fun to stand back and watch the children strategize and work together as a team. The preschoolers have also been practising the songs they will sing at the family potluck and for the Hugh Boyd Seniors. In the coming week they will be decorating a gingerbread cookie with their big buddy - this always makes for a fun day! Inspirational Paintings     ...
Post a Comment
Read more