"Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. A hilarious story that will revolt and delight bumptious, unreachable intermediate-grade boys and any other less particular mortals that read or listen to it.... Colorful, original writing in a much-needed comic vein."--Booklist. |
KEEP YOUR WORMS HAPPY: Always keep your worms cool and moist. Be careful not to make the soil too wet, or your worms may drown. Every six weeks or so, add a small amount of oatmeal for your worms to eat. | Build a Worm Farm Materials: Glass jar (quart size or larger), soil, sand, worms, hammer and large nail, dark cloth, uncooked oatmeal Directions: Put a one-inch layer of moist soil into the glass jar. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of oatmeal on top of the soil. Add a one-inch layer of moist sand. Continue this sequence until there is about 2 inches of open space left in the jar with the last layer being soil. Place about 20 worms in the jar. Don't add any uncooked oatmeal on the final layer of soil. Punch holes in lid of jar with hammer and nail. Don't punch holes into the lid when it is on the jar! Cover the jar with the dark cloth. Place the worm farm somewhere that is not in direct sunlight. After a week, remove the dark cloth and observe how the worms have mixed the soil and sand in their search for food. |
Then it was time for a snack. Naturally worms in dirt were on the menu. Here's out to make them.
- The first order of business when making “worms in dirt” is, of course, to make the dirt.
- Place the chocolate sandwich cookies in a large zip-top plastic bag, and use a rolling pin to crush them into small pieces. Don’t worry about removing the cream filling before putting the cookies in the bag–at first they will clump together, but as you continue to crush them, the cream will blend with the cookies and you won’t even notice it.
- Continue to crush the cookies in the bag until they are in fine crumbs. A few larger pieces are okay, too–after all, dirt comes in different sizes!
- Next, make the pudding. Pour the dry pudding mix into a large bowl, then add the cold milk. Whisk everything together until all of the dry pudding dissolves and it’s smooth and free of lumps.
- Let the pudding sit for about 5 minutes, until it thickens and is no longer liquid. If it has the delightfully gloppy texture of pudding, you’re ready to go on.
- Add the whipped topping and approximately half of the cookie crumbs. You don’t have to measure, just eyeball half the bag and pour it in.
- Gently stir everything together until the streaks of whipped topping disappear, and the cookies are well-mixed into the pudding.
- Divide the pudding mixture evenly between eight cups (I chose to use small clay pots)–each should hold a little over ½-cup of pudding. You can fill them however you’d like–I prefer to use a large ice cream scoop because I think it’s a little neater and faster that way.
- Tap the cups on the countertop a few times to level the pudding, then insert gummy worms into the pudding and press them down a little so that they’re embedded.
- Pour the cookie crumbs over the pudding and gummy worms so that the entire top is covered with “dirt.” Smooth it into an even layer with your hands.
For the grand finale, the kids got to perform an experiment that allowed them to actually make worms. It was easy and didn't take long, and they loved it. Plus, they didn't know it, but they learned a little chemistry.