{"id":2873,"date":"2023-04-18T20:56:39","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T20:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingwithplastics.climateactionchildhood.net\/?page_id=2873"},"modified":"2026-03-27T19:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:09:11","slug":"worms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/livingwithplastics.climateactionchildhood.net\/index.php\/documentation\/worms\/","title":{"rendered":"Worms Making\u00a0Worlds\u200b"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Red wigglers worm their way into the worlds of children in this preschool class. These captive, composting worms are gifted to the preschoolers as they journey toward thinking differently about food waste. <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Inviting these little composters to build worlds together becomes a special event. Children notice the worms’ movements, colours, complexion, shape and wormy antics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“They’re wriggling. I think they are trying to get out.” – Carol<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Children and educators puzzle over how we might respond to living with these creatures and what it might require to create a caring collective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“I think the food is the worms’ home.” – Cindy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They hide in the day and come out at night.” – Louisa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Worms like the dark.” – Pierre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Children and educators explore possible food scraps for the composting worms. We read together and begin to compile a list of possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this process children and educators gather worm knowledge, and we build upon and add to this existing knowledge as we create collective worlds with children and worms. Educators encourage the children to negotiate, debate and discuss new and different possibilities around food.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The worlds of worms and children begin to converge.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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No fuzzies<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No seeds<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No peels and no onions<\/mark><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“No fuzzy scraps to the\u00a0worms.”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Don<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They\u00a0can’t\u00a0eat fuzzy because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not good for their mouth.”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Heather<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The fuzzies\u00a0aren’t\u00a0good for\u00a0their bellies.” \u2013\u00a0 Cindy<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Worms\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0have seeds.\u00a0It will\u00a0make them sick, so we have to\u00a0shake them from the food\u00a0scraps.”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cindy<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sometimes bread has\u00a0seeds.”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Heather<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Worms\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0have oranges or\u00a0onions or seeds.”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Carol<\/mark><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“Sometimes bread has seeds.” \u2013 Heather<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Worms can\u2019t have oranges or
onions or seeds.” \u2013 Carol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No spicey peppers.” \u2013 Heather<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“Worms cannot have seeds\u2026it will make them sick, so we have to shake them from the food scraps.” – Don<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Worms can have peppers, but we have to get the seeds off.” – Cindy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That piece is too big. You have to break it apart. They can’t have the green part because it’s too hard.” – Cindy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Caring for worms, just like when we feed the outdoor composter and gather seeds for the seed bank, requires paying careful attention to the specificities of food waste.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Responding to Cindy’s and Don’s\u00a0ideas, we separate the food into three clear bins:\u00a0compost food,\u00a0vermicompost\u00a0food, <\/em>and seed\u00a0preservation<\/em>. Daily and weekly\u00a0rituals emerge. Each day we negotiate which food scraps belong to each bin, and at the end of the week, we share the scraps with the\u00a0worms in the vermicomposter, give the seeds to the seed group and take a walk to the outdoor\u00a0composter for all the rest of the scraps. We slowly bring together divergent worlds that become enmeshed as we think with food scraps as much more than waste.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Feeding time opens up moments of noticing the complexity of worms’ lives.  Children notice that sometimes the food is stinky and that worms do not have teeth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They don\u2019t have teeth; they have 
to grow them.”<\/em> \u2013 Heather<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Children’s worlds and worm worlds become even more entangled when children see their leftovers becoming worm food rather than forgettable trash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We need to check on the worms. We have to feed them.”  <\/em>\u2013 Carol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Children and educators gather to carefully prepare the food for the worms. We blend the scraps we separated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The food is getting smaller.”<\/em> – Cindy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We create small bundles of blended food scraps and preserve it in the freezer for future feeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“It’s stinky.” <\/em>
– Cindy<\/em><\/h2><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Along with stink comes fuzzies. Children worry that the\u00a0fuzzies might be harmful to the worms.\u00a0Multiple theories emerge through discussions.\u00a0

\u201cWe have to get all the blue, all the blue mold.\u201d<\/em> – Don

Don painstakingly sorts through the moldy and damp worm world to remove all the blue fuzzies so the worms can remain healthy.\u00a0

“Worms can’t have fuzzies.”<\/em> – Louisa
“We have to wash the fuzzies off.”<\/em> –\u00a0Heather
“We can scrape the fuzzies off.” <\/em>– Heather
“Fuzzies go in the other bowl.”<\/em> – Cindy<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Removing the fuzzies elicits a conversation about our response-abilities toward these creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over\u00a0several weeks children and educators experiment\u00a0with different food preparation techniques as a possible way to avoid fuzzies. \u00a0

Through these experimentations we collectively develop a sense of community with the world. We discuss what it\u00a0means to be in\u00a0relation with the worms,\u00a0to\u00a0care for them as they care for us.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Drawing<\/strong>
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Lingering together deepens worm-child relations. As children notice worms’ motions, they wonder what it is like to move like worms. Through\u00a0drawing we explore\u00a0the\u00a0worms’\u00a0motions.\u00a0

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Children zoom in even closer to the worm world as educators project the microscopic particles of the vermicomposter\u00a0on the wall. Suddenly tiny worlds are huge, and we invite the children to draw with charcoal and pencil.<\/mark><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“The worms have batteries to make them go fast.” \u2013 Carol <\/em>
“They’re just tiny batteries.” \u2013 Cindy<\/em>
“They’re\u00a0wriggling.\u00a0They’re\u00a0trying to\u00a0get out.” – Carol<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Paying close attention, <\/mark><\/strong>
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marks mimicking the <\/mark><\/strong>
movements of the worms.\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“I like the\u00a0little\u00a0worms because\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
they\u00a0are\u00a0slow.” – Cindy<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Embodied Worm Movements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

We embody the worms’ movements, choreographing what it is to be and live like worms. Newspaper “blankets” cover bodies as children recreate worm movements of wiggle, squirm, stillness, crawl quickly, roll over, and hide. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Can you breathe?”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cindy\u200b

“It’s dark in here.”\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nina\u200b

“I’m\u00a0gonna\u00a0cover your tail.” \u2013 Cindy

“Worms like the dark.” \u2013 Carol

“The paper keeps the light out because\u00a0worms need to be in the dark.”\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Carol

“I think they need a new blanket.” \u00a0\u2013\u00a0Louisa<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n


From drawing to whole body movements<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cCover\u00a0the worm with paper to keep it warm.<\/em>\u201d – Pierre<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Extending Louisa\u2019s suggestions that the worms
need new blankets, we rip newspaper.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“There’s a lot of worms. I found another one!”\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Louisa<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Separating the worms\u00a0from their\u00a0castings is slow and meticulous.\u00a0There are many worms hiding, and\u00a0the\u00a0tiny ones are hard to\u00a0find. <\/p>\n\n

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World making with worms means\u00a0the children must work slowly\u00a0and intentionally to\u00a0pluck each\u00a0wriggly\u00a0worm from the pile and\u00a0move it\u00a0to another bucket filled\u00a0with clean soil.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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The process of creating <\/strong>
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The\u00a0children carefully rip, tear and shred the newspapers into many colourful\u00a0strips. They gently place the shredded paper over the fresh bedding and food scraps.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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After the worms are settled in their clean bedding, we place some\u00a0fresh newspaper over top as a new blanket for the worms.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Creating and Embodying Worm Stories<\/strong>
Storying the life of worms

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