Friday 4 October 2013

Bugs' life: Little adventures challenge

"Worms, we don't eat them, Mama, do we?"
- No, we don't, Eddie!
"Why not?"

Eddie has been enjoying the bug-watching (or is it a bug-spotting?) since he was very little. I remember him being engrossed in the antics of the ants in the garden, you couldn't budge him from his vantage point. Bees, spiders and flies, all these creepy-crawlies seem to be fascinating and thrilling to my mini-Gerald Durrell.

Digging for worms


Durrell's My family and other animals is one of my most favourite books, which I revisit every now and again. Who would have thought that my own child would find the subject of the insect world as enchanting. Though I am less tolerant than Gerald's mother, I wouldn't want any of these wonderful creatures in our house. Show me a spider, and I want to run away. Let them be observed outdoors.
Our garden attracts lots of bees and butterflies, and whenever I am weeding and digging, there are numerous bugs and worms to be found. And lots of other marvellous things that I would rather not see.



Earthworms, love them or hate them, you cannot deny they are very useful. But did you know there are many varieties of the earthworms?
Well, you might know, but I never paid much attention until I got to read about Riverford's Big Worm Dig project.
There are four ecological groups of worms: the soil eaters, composters, the deep burrowers and the litter dwellers.
Eddie doesn't need to be asked twice if he wants to dig, he is always ready to dig in the garden. Even in the rain.
Riverford and the Natural History Museum asked the children and their parents to rummage in the gardens for their survey and identify the worms.
Eddie the mini-Darwin is not squirmish at all when it comes to the creepy-crawlies. He's been known for "tasting" the worm once and then putting it back in the soil, when he was younger.

Eddie "taking notes" (the survey we had to fill in while digging)


So, to help the Big Worm Dig we went in the garden and chose a spot for digging. As you can see from the photos above, we found quite a few friends.

Recently BritMums came up with an exciting blogging challenge called Little Adventures Linky, celebrating our children's curiosity and the little things that capture their imagination. I completely share their motto "Small things make a difference".
Imagine my little man's delight when the Bug Barn arrived together with a book on insects and two packs of yummy snacks. I wonder how did BritMums know about Eddie's love of bugs?! They must be psychic!



We put a couple of worms aka pets in the Bug Barn to observe them better. Do not worry, they were later safely deposited back in the spot were they were dwelling.
We also found an incy-wincy spider at home and watched it moving inside before releasing outside in the garden.



After all that digging and admiring the worms what could be better than a tasty snack?! How does the idea of a bear-shaped sponge snack appeal to you? Bite it, and be surpised: there is a hidden soft creamy centre, how's that for a discovery? Barny snacks come in two flavours: Chocolate and Milk. They contain no artificial colours or preservaties, and are child-friendly. But who said they are only for kids? As the foodie-tester I just had to sample them too. They look darn cute and taste lovely.


Barny, yummy in my tummy!




This post is an entry for BritMums "Little Adventures Challenge" (link removed as expired) in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here.




Disclosure: we received a lovely hamper, with Barny snacks and a discovery kit. Many thanks from Eddie, his family and other animals!


Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall
Post Comment Love

10 comments:

  1. How interesting, I never knew there were different varieties of worms, I think we are going to have to do a little bit of research on this too. Your little boy looks like he is loving his Barny cake and well deserved too, after all that digging :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Debra! If you search for Big Worm Dig, you can find all the relevant information. :)

      Delete
  2. I did not know about the different worms, so thank you for enlightening me. I think it's wonderful to be so fascinated with all of these creatures, and as all are so accessible in our gardens, your little Durrell will have no end of fun out there exploring and discovering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm all in favour of exploring, as long as he doesn't start bringing home some scorpios. :)

      Delete
  3. What an informative post. Commenting for myself and BritMums and thanking you for taking part.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you to Britmums for a super duper bug kit and biccies!

      Delete
  4. Grace is really into bugs too and keeps collecting wood lice as pets! We got one of those packs too - they're amazing aren't they?! Good luck with the competition. Thanks for linking to PoCoLo x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Victoria! And good luck to you too!

      Delete
  5. Bug spotting is such fun and children learn so much from this activity. You have some lovely photos of Eddie busy having fun in the garden and the kit looks great. Thanks for linking up and sharing your bug adventures with Country Kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Fiona! Our adventures are on a smaller scale in comparison to your beach antics!

      Delete