coyote peterson – Pod of One

Ever notice how there are worms slithering around on sidewalks after a rainy day?

Amelia noticed. She spotted them on one of our many really hot days and asked what would happen to them.

“Daddy, what happens to them in the sun?”

“They dry up and die.”

“That’s sad. Let’s save them!”

So we decided to spend the morning rescuing the worms. And let’s face it, worms are great for our garden, so it was win-win. Or if you’re a fan of The Office, win-win-win.

We got a small beach toy and started picking the worms up and placing them inside. Amelia decided she didn’t want to touch them, so she used a very colorful zip tie to put them in. I used my hands.

And then we freed them. We talked about how worms make the soil better, and since I didn’t know much about the science behind it, decided to watch this video:

I love when her questions lead me to new knowledge. Because let’s face it, our kids are going to ask a lot of questions that we do not know the answers to. And on this particular day, I realized that a lot of good lessons for our pod of one could come from her questions.

We also HAD to watch (for the hundredth time) the Coyote Peterson episode where he searches for bloodworms. It really is one of our favorites:

This was something Amelia brought up to me. She wanted to know if the worms on our porch would bite like the do in the video, and I quickly told her no.

She taught me something that day. Sometimes, it’s nice to let her take control of a morning and see what happens. Her wish to save these worms, and her question, brought us both a bit more knowledge. Nothing wrong with that, right?

If you’re looking for a lesson with a little more structure, Growing Minds, Farm to School has some great ideas for lessons and a few books to read.

One of the more exciting lessons I’ve done lately for my pod of one was an ant farm. I had picked one up on clearance at Tuesday Morning just before the pandemic started. I highly recommend stopping at one of these stores from time to time if you are on a budget. Their prices are pretty good and they often have clearance sections full of learning toys and STEM kits.

The only problem was that I didn’t notice it didn’t include a certificate for the ants, so I had to find them myself. After quite a bit of research, I ended up using a company called Ants Alive because their prices were the best at $4.99USD and free shipping.

We watched a YouTube video on ant colonies, and even watched the Coyote Peterson Ant Bite video. Coyote is a favorite in our house! If you haven’t checked him out, you should.

So I told her about the ants a few weeks after ordering them, which was a mistake. Every day she wanted to check the mail. When they finally came, we followed the directions and put them in the fridge for a bit. This slows them down enough to drop them into the ant farm without worrying about losing some.

This one was a huge hit with Amelia. She checked on them every hour or so to see the tunnels change. It’s pretty amazing how quickly the create their intricate tunnel system.

This farm has a few tubes for them to run around in, and pods for food and water with safety lids to they don’t escape.

We tested different foods and had a lot of fun.

She still checks on them in the morning, although we have a few less at this point.

Tag: coyote peterson

Saving Worms

Ant Farming