The Kids Get Wormy

A few days ago a box arrived in the mail stamped with the words "PERISHABLE" and "Open immediately upon arrival." My mealworms had finally arrived.

I the spirit of eduction and scientific discovery and I sucked up my fears and let these critters out of the box. These suckers are gross.

I cut up some potato, but it in the bin and started to read my lesson plan for later that afternoon. Every two students would have their own cup filled with a couple mealworms. They would use magnifying glasses to be "scientists" and look at the worms up close. My teachers manual encouraged me to ask the students questions like "How many legs does each worm have?" "How many legs are at your table group?" "What do you think your worm likes to eat?" etc.

I should have known better.

The students entered the classroom that morning in high spirits. I shook each of their hands as they came through the door... but needless to say ClassKlepto had already discovered the worms I had hidden on my desk in the back corner. This kid really knows how to keep me on my toes. I dispelled the group of students and got everyone started with the normal morning routine. The curiosity was building.

That afternoon, as I started the science lesson, I immediately regretted the cookies I had fed the students earlier that afternoon (note to self: never reward children with sugar). The lesson started off well... we had a class discussion about all the things we already knew about insects and kids were eager to share personal stories about the caterpillars and ants they had already seen.

I handed out the students cups with worms inside. They looked carefully and closely with their plastic magnifiers. They were asking questions and comparing their worms to those of their friends. But, chaos ensued when I told the students we were ready to put the worms on paper plates and look at them up close.


I soon realized that these sleepy looking worms were trying to get the heck out of their small little cups. Once on the plate, these little things tried to make a run for it. They were running off the plate, onto the desks and then... onto the floor. Holy Jesus. I wanted to run... but then I remembered that I was the adult! I started scooping mealworms back onto plates. Calming screaming children who were "missing a worm." Things were getting out of control. I stopped the class and ordered all children to "PUT THE WORMS BACK IN THE CUPS!"

Soon, I had regained control and convinced myself that there were no worms still on the classroom floor (although, I was still keeping my eyes peeled). The kids started calming down and we were finally back on track. What a day.



Lesson learned: never let insects out of the cups. And never let the kids eat cookies during the school day... that's a big one.