The volunteers began their worm night by reading Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. This humorous picture book details the life of a worm kid diary format, including eating his homework and having a hard time doing the Hokey Pokey. While keeping the kids laughing, this book also teaches a few interesting facts about worms.
They read aloud Yucky Worms by Vivian French next. In this book, a little boy and his grandma find a worm in her garden. The boy thinks the worm is yucky until his grandma teaches him all the interesting things she knows about worms.
After reading both books, the group discussed some of the facts it had just learned from the books, including the following: - Worms' heads are pointed and their tails are rounded.
- Worms are segmented and this helps them move through soil. Their movements loosen the soil and aerate the ground.
- Worms eat dead organic material. They also eat small amounts of garbage and small rocks.
- Their waste fertilizes the soil.
- Worms can regenerate segments of their bodies.
- Some worms can grow up to 22 feet long.
- Worms do not have lungs. They breathe through their skin.
- Worms have no eyes.
The volunteers brought a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction books to read in small groups. Some of their favorite additional titles were Inch By Inch by Leo Lionni and Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer.
If you're not up for digging up your own worms, you can purchase 12 night crawler worms at PetSmart or other pet supply stores for about $4.
To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.