Dirt, Crawlers, and Spring at Last!

Now that both boys have finished History for the year (yep, they’re done for the entire school yea already), I’ve started to introduce science.

Truth be told, I HATED Science as a child. It tied with math for my least favorite subject. And let’s not even talk about chemistry or calculus. But can I just say, elementary science is SO FUN!

This week while my 3rd grader was learning about eyeballs and inner ears, my 2nd grader was learning all about animals, specifically insects. We decided to take advantage of the warm New England weather (50 °) and bring the learning outside.

Let me just say, digging for earthworms is difficult business! My husband insisted it was because we weren’t “early birds”, but I think the (brrr) Spring weather was working against us. After 45 mins of both digging and trying various soapy/watery concoctions, we triumphantly brought a bucket of worms home and began our experiment.

Our experiment was to:
“Discover which Environments Earthworms Prefer: wet soil or dry sand”

Materials Used:
*glass jar
*jar lid w/ holes (we used tin foil)
*dark colored construction paper
*tape
*moist soil
*dry sand
*several earthworms

Directions:
1.) fill 1/2 the jar with moist soil
2.) fill the top 1/2 of the jar with dry sand (leaving a few inches of air at the top)

3.) add the earthworms!
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4.) add the lid
5.) cover sides of jar with dark construction paper for 1-2 days

6.) uncover & observe which environment the earthworms prefer and discuss why

The boys (and Hubs) loved this project, and have since adopted all 17 earthworms.
Try it out with your little ones! Make a day of it. Dig holes. Soak up some vitamin D. Observe. Explore God’s world.