7.0+Parent+Involvement

=Parent Involvement - Worming Around At Home!=

Worming Around At Home!
Your child has been caring for a population of Red Wiggler Worms for the past few weeks in our classroom. It is now time to take the worms home! This is great news for your family since worms are wonderful recyclers (decomposers) of your organic garbage. Your child has learned about what is best to feed his/her worms, and how to care for them.

As an extension activity, to help your child’s learning move beyond the classroom walls, we would like to ask that you help your child create a worm bin at home! It is very easy to build and will supply you with wonderfully rich compost for the plants you grow around your home!

The directions for creating a simple worm bin are on the attached page. Your child can continue to document the success of the worm population on his/her wiki page. You can monitor this project by going to

http://covekids0708.wikispaces.com

We have had a great time watching these clever creatures, and hope your family will enjoy them for years to come!

Creating a Worm Bin
1. Build (or buy) your worm bin. These can be purchased from many online vendors (Google "worm composting" - you'll be amazed!), or you can build your own. You can use rubber storage totes, galvanized tubs, wood or plastic. Rubber is cheap, easy to use and durable. Galvanized tubs are somewhat costy but will last forever. Wood will eventually be eaten and plastic cracks easily but either will do in a pinch. Your bin should be well-ventilated, with several 1/8 inch holes at the bottom (otherwise the worms will stay at the bottom of the bin and you may drown your worms). The larger you make the container, the more worms it can sustain. Estimate 1 pound of worms (1,200) for every square foot of surface area. The maximum depth for your bin is 24 inches deep because composting worms will not go further down than 24 inches. The bin should have a cover to prevent light from getting in and to prevent the compost from drying out but can be removed if your compost is too wet. For example, you can build a worm bin out of a large plastic tub with several dozen small holes drilled out on the bottom and sides for ventilation. For a cover, use a canvas tarp, doubled over and bungee-corded on, or kept in place with wood. Burlap sacks also work well, and can be watered directly.

2. Or you can use 4 old car tires: A four-tire wormery: Create a base from old bricks or flagstones (must be flat and with as few cracks as possible). Place a layer of heavy newspaper on top of the bricks. Stuff four old tires with newspapers. Pile the tires on top of each other, with the first tire on the sunday newspaper. Put some scrunched up paper or cardboard in the bottom to soak up any excess liquid. Fill the tire wormery with organic material (semi-composted is best). Add the composting worms (tiger or brandling species are best). Use a piece of board weighed down with bricks as a lid. The lid must be big enough to stop rain getting in. Harvest a tire's worth of fertilizer roughly every 8 weeks (during warm months).

3. Prepare the box for worms. Fill your bin with thin strips of unbleached corrugated cardboard or shredded newspaper, straw, dry grass, or some similar material. This provides a source of fiber to the worms and keeps the bin well-ventilated. Sprinkle a handful of dirt on top, and thoroughly moisten. Allow the water to soak in for at least a day before adding worms. You can also use Canadian peat moss which is more expensive but yields a loamier vermicompost. We used mushroom compost purchased at Lowe’s Hardware.

Have FUN Worming Around with your child!!

Information from: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Worm-Compost-System