Pet Worm

My wife has a worm bin in the garage. It’s actually not her first worm bin. She had originally dug a huge hole in the garden to put a worm bin a few years ago as an experiment. She bought some worms and followed the initial instructions to nurture the worms. After a few months of feeding the worms, she checked on them again and there was apparently a huge spider that made quite a cozy home in the garden worm bin. That’s when we ended up getting a worm bin in the garage.

Our 5 year old daughter isn’t afraid of worms. Maybe because she’s observed her mother so often over the years. Or maybe because she was exposed to it early on in daycare (where they held and pet all kinds of bugs). Regardless, she has recently found a huge worm in the playground of her kindergarten. She and her friend dug a hole in the ground and decided to put the worm in there because it was originally in the sand pit. Some kids almost stepped on the worm, which prompted my daughter to move the worm to a new location.

They also placed sticks across the top and then put leaves over the sticks so there is a makeshift roof over the worm. When I asked if the worm was still alive, she said yes. I asked to see the worm and she removed the leaves. The worm didn’t move at all and was still in the hole, so my daughter just poked the worm with her finger.

The worm didn’t move at all. And it is a huge worm, about the thickness of a pinky finger and very long. I told her that maybe the worm is hibernating in the winter, so hopefully that’s what is going on. My daughter is still adamant this worm is alive and moves (and even moved today). She is going to continue taking care of the worm and even named it - Squirmy. Hopefully Squirmy makes it through the winter and it’s great seeing my daughter treat living things with such care.