This summer we’ve kept up our learning adventures with a few simple backyard nature studies.  This nature study is easy to set up and lets your scientists get hands-on with a simple worm observation.

We started our worm observation by building our very own, very simple wormery.  You can do this with any clear, plastic container.  We chose to use some clear plastic cups we had left from a birthday party; I’ve also seen people cut 2 liter plastic soda pop bottles.  The choice is yours.

The first step to creating your wormery is to fill your container with a mixture of soils.  We lifted a few rocks we usually find worms under and used some of the dirt there, layering it with a bit of sand.  I decided to let my kids do it completely themselves as part of the learning process, so you can’t really see the layers as nicely in the picture.  But the worms did’t really seem to mind.

To encourage the worms to build their tunnels towards the edge of the cup, where we could better see them, we put a piece of cardboard tube in the center of the cup, shoveling the dirt between the cardboard tube and the cup.

Then we put some damp leaves and grass on top and stuck our clear plastic cup inside a slightly larger solid-colored cup.  If you are using a pop bottle or something else to make your wormery, you can use black construction paper to cover the outside of the container.  The idea is to make it nice and dark and cozy to encourage your worms to dig those tunnels!

Finally, you need a few wiggly inhabitants.

Finding worms is usually easiest after a good rain.  Try looking under a few large rocks, in the flower bed, or even in the driveway if the rain has been pretty recent.  Hunting for worms is part of the fun!

Once you have several (the more you have, the better chance to see those tunnels), place them in the wormery between the cardboard tube and clear plastic cup.  Sprinkle the top of the soil with a bit of water, make sure you have the sides of the clear cup covered, and set it somewhere cool for a day or two.

It can be hard waiting when you’re little.  A few good books on earthworms is perfect to fill the time while you wait.  A few of our favorite books about earthworms that are good for preschool-aged and older are: Garden Wigglers: Earthworms in Your Backyard,   An Earthworm’s Life ,   and Wiggling Worms at Work.

After a couple days, it’s time to uncover the clear container and check out those tunnels!

We talked about what the worms had done.

I asked them to think about how worms help plants grow.  Kids love showing off what they know!  They couldn’t wait to remind me that we learned earthworms can help soften the soil.  And those tunnels?  They help air and water get to the plant roots easier.

Of course, you can’t have a worm observation without handling at least one worm!    This is definitely a favorite part for my kids.

We dumped our wormery out into a plastic container to check out the worms.

Did you know, if you hold an earthworm up in the sunlight you can see through them and check out what they’ve been eating?    (Our little worm wasn’t thrilled about getting his picture taken this way so he was a bit wiggly and turned out blurry, but I love how you can see that dark trail running through his intestine.)   The kids had a great time checking out the worms this way, and we were able to talk about some basic anatomy of the worms as well.

Worm observation is a super simple nature study that is perfect for spring or summer.  

Nature Study Series: 

• Simple Ant Observation
• Observing Tadpoles/Frogs
• Exploring Natural Clay
• Going on a Bug Hunt!

The post Nature Study: Worm Observation first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

The second week found us with magnifying glasses and buckets, headed to the pond to hunt for tadpoles.

We are lucky enough to have a pond, which is full of tiny tadpoles each spring.  Want to hunt tadpoles?  Check out a local pond (maybe one at a park?), lake, or creek near you.

Usually we just enjoy watching the tadpoles there at the pond, collecting bucketfuls of the wiggling creatures and using magnifying glasses to check out tiny legs.

This year, however, we came across a huge bullfrog tadpole and decided to bring it home for a few days to observe more closely.

After getting our tadpole set up in his temporary home, we got out a ruler to see how big he was.  Measuring a wiggly tadpole isn’t easy!  We discovered our tadpole is a little longer than three inches.

Then we got out colored pencils and carefully sketched the tadpole in our school journals.  Do you see all those black spots?  I loved watching the kids carefully duplicate those dots on their drawings.

If you choose to bring home a tadpole, here are some helpful tips:

• Choose a clear container to put your tadpoles in so you can see them from all angles.
• Bring home enough of the pond or creek water for your tadpoles to swim in.  Tap water should not be used since it contains chemicals that may harm the amphibian.
• Tadpoles will eat boiled lettuce leaves.  Just boil the leaves for 8-10 minutes and let cool before adding them to the container.  We discovered our bullfrog tadpole really likes boiled spinach leaves from the garden.
• You can use a turkey baster to clean the waste out of the tank every couple days.  (Just be careful not to suck up an tiny tadpoles!)
• As tadpoles develop front legs they also start to develop lungs.  They will need a rock or something else to climb up on when that happens.
• Keep in mind that it takes tadpoles a while to change into frogs, anywhere from 2 months to almost 2 years for a bullfrog tadpole.  If you decide you don’t want to keep the tadpole that long, try to release it in the same place you found it.  Ours will be swimming back in the pond soon; two years is a long time to take care of a tadpole!

Not sure you want to bring home the tadpoles?

Bring the magnifying glasses and observe them in their natural habitat!

You can find tadpoles and frogs in all sizes and shapes!

My daughter was thrilled to find this tiny frog.  If you look closely, you can see his tail is still there.

(She also found a tiny snail.  You never know what you may find!)

Materials that may be helpful:

This is our favorite magnifying glass (very durable) and the plastic aquarium is perfect for even the youngest scientist.

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Be sure to check out last week’s ant observation.

You may also like this DIY Butterfly Feeder.

The post Nature Study: Tadpoles first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.