Worms Theme for Preschool

A Worms Preschool Theme?!  How cool and gross and fun! Even those who don't like them will learn to appreciate them through this theme!  You'll see the words "critters", "crawlers" and "wigglers" used often!

This page has activities, ideas and preschool lesson plans for each Interest Learning Center in your preschool classroom.  

You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.

Let the Worms Theme Planning Begin!

Themed Art

Wiggly Collages

In advance, cook spaghetti and drain.  Mix together red, blue and yellow food coloring (to make brown) and add to the spaghetti.  Mix.!

Give each child a paper plate for them to arrange their wigglers on.  The starch on the spaghetti should act as glue.  

VARIATION:  Have the children brush a very thin layer of watered down glue on the paper plates to be sure the spaghetti sticks.

Walk the Wiggler!

Materials:  paper towel tubes, yarn, paint, googly eyes, markers, misc. arts/crafts supplies, glue

The children paint and decorate as needed.  Tell them it will be cut and will wiggle when it's dried.

When dried, help the children cut the tube into 5 or 6 sections.

Tie yarn around the back section.  Thread through the middles of the other sections toward the front.  

Glue eyes on front section.  Take them for a walk!

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Themed Block Center Ideas

Just Add Crawling Critters!

Okay, not actual ones, but be creative!  Add small stuffed animal snakes; add colorful pipe cleaners or pieces of yarn; have the children cut their own wigglers out of construction paper and add them to the block area.  The dramatic play will take hold in your block area!

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Themed Circle Time Ideas

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!

Walter the Waltzing Worm

This is a music and movement activity but GREAT for circle time as well!

It is great and this particular song works on spatial direction with the children (up, down) as well as body part identification.  It is from the following CD by Hap Palmer.....it is awesome!

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Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Theme!

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!

Ewww..What's in the Apple

Cut apples in half (across the middle).  Place one or two gummy critters in the middle!

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Themed Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Gardening Center

Provide items to have a gardening center!  Use real dirt--I know, I know--it IS messy--provide child sized brooms and dustpans (and a dust buster type vacuum!) to help teach the children to clean up after themselves!

Place gardening tools such as watering cans, spray bottles, seeds, plastic spades, etc. soil, pretend plastic night crawlers into a large bin or a wading pool.

Place a tarp under it for easier clean up.

Provide aprons and a place to rinse hands (perhaps a small bin with warm, soapy water and towels).

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Themed Ideas for Your Easel

More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Wiggle Painting

Use plastic wigglers (can find these in a bait/fishing shop) to paint with.

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Themed Large Group Games

that help build their muscles while they have fun together!

Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course that your children need to wiggle through!  Go under a chair, around a bucket, through a tunnel (or a table with a blanket over it that looks like a tunnel!), etc.  Have fun!

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Themed Ideas for Your Library

Book Suggestions for the Library

The following books may be available at your local library.  You can also purchase them at Amazon by clicking on the title links below.

(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website.  If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

Wiggle and Waggle by Caroline Arnold and Mary Peterson

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Themed Math & Manipulatives Activities

To help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands!

In The Garden

Provide green and brown pipe cleaners and clear cups with dirt.  

The children bend and shape the pipe cleaners into the wiggly shapes they want.

Provide scissors for them to try cutting them.  

They can stick and place their crawlers in the dirt!

VARIATION:  Instead of dirt, provide brown play dough for them to stick the pipe cleaners into in the cups.

Puzzles!

Make worm shaped puzzles by cutting a large curvy worm shape from different colors of construction paper.

Draw a face on one end.

Cut puzzle into 4 or 5 pieces.  The children put back together.

Print a letter or shape on the cut edges where the puzzle should be matched up so that the children can self correct while doing the puzzle.

Play dough  of course!

What else do children like to do with play dough?  Make snakes--big and small!  No additional items necessary!

EXTENSION:  To challenge those hand muscles, provide modeling clay instead of play dough!

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Themes Music & Movement Activities

and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

Little Wiggle Worm  sung to Itsy, Bitsy Spider

The little wiggle worm   (wiggle a stuffed animal worm or playdough worm or pipe cleaner worm) 

Went crawling underground. (wiggle worm under hand) 

Down Came the rain      (wiggle fingers downward) 

And then mud was all around. (open arms wide)

The rain filled their tunnels (open hand; move fingers together) 

And pushed out the little worm. (push worm through other hand)

And soon the puddles on the ground (make an O shape for a puddle with your hand) 

Were the only place to squirm. (wiggle worm into the puddle)

Nobody Likes Me

I remember this as a camp song...pretty gross song, so here is a preschool version!

Nobody likes me.  Everybody hates me.

I guess I'll just eat some worms!

Long, thin, and slimy ones.

Short, fat, and juicy ones.

Itsy, bitsy, gooey worms.

Down goes the first one.

Down goes the second one.

Oh how they wiggle and squirm.

Up comes the first one.

Up comes the second one.

Oh how they wiggle and squirm.

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Themed Sand & Water Table Ideas

Dirt and Worms

Add soil and plastic worms to your table this week.  Add cups, tweezers, spoons etc. for the children to find and sort the worms.

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Themed Science Activities

for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Earthworm Farm!

Use a wooden framed boxes (somewhat shallow) for your farm.  In addition, you will need:

earthworm bedding material (make your own with potting soil and sphagnum moss and a little bit of cornmeal); worms and extra cornmeal.

Add the bedding to the wooden box.  Add the critters.

Provide journals or paper and crayons for the children to draw their observations each day.

Dust the box with cornmeal to feed their crawlers now and again.

Layers!

Okay, this one is a stretch!  Add conversations about what happens to the dirt in the ground when it rains. The water forces the underground crawlers to come to the top.  

Needed:  Tall, clear plastic cup; 7-up soda; blueberry syrup; heavy cream

Pour the liquids in the jar:

2 inches of 7-Up

1/2 inch of blueberry syrup

1 inch of cream

The layers remain separated because of their density.

EXTENSION:  Follow up the same or next day with the following experiment:

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Writing Center Ideas for Your Theme

Class Book

Encourage your children to print letters they know and turn them into worms by adding faces.  Encourage them to tell stories about their creations and make the pages from all the children into a class book.

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