Earthworms: What to Notice, Explore, and Learn Together With Your Child

July 7, 2026

One of the first animals most children become excited to discover is an earthworm.

After a rainstorm, children often stop walking, crouch down, and point excitedly at the ground. "It's a worm!" That single moment is an opportunity to help your child become more observant, ask questions, and develop a deeper connection with the natural world around them.

At Little Hikers Long Island, we believe children learn about nature best by experiencing it together with someone they love. Reading about an earthworm in a book is a wonderful beginning, but watching one move across the forest floor, gently feeling its cool body, noticing where it lives, and asking questions together creates a much deeper understanding.

Every visit to your local park is an opportunity to learn. Earthworms are one of the easiest places to begin.

What Is an Earthworm?

Earthworms are animals that spend most of their lives underground. They belong to a group of animals called annelids, which are segmented worms. If you look closely, you will notice that an earthworm's body is made of many small rings called segments.

Earthworms have no legs, no bones, and no lungs. Instead, they move by stretching and shortening their bodies while using tiny bristles called setae to grip the soil. They also breathe through their moist skin, which is why they need to stay damp.

On Long Island, you can often find earthworms after a rainstorm, under damp leaves, beneath logs, in gardens, and in healthy soil.

Before You Teach, Help Your Child Notice

One of the greatest gifts we can give children is the ability to notice.

Instead of immediately explaining everything, slow down together.

Ask your child what they see before you tell them the answer.

Children who learn to observe carefully become better at asking questions, solving problems, and paying attention to details.

Nature naturally encourages this type of thinking.

The next time you find an earthworm, try asking questions instead of giving facts:

What do you notice first?

Is the worm moving quickly or slowly?

Does the whole body move at once?

Which end do you think is the head?

What color do you see?

Does it look dry or wet?

Where did you find it?

What else is growing nearby?

These simple questions encourage curiosity while teaching children that careful observation comes before explanation.

What Your Child May Notice

Children often notice details that adults miss.

They may see the earthworm stretching its body before pulling the rest of itself forward.

They may notice tiny rings covering its body.

Some children notice that the worm shines in the sunlight because its skin stays moist.

Others become fascinated by how quietly it moves through the soil.

Instead of rushing to the next activity, spend a few minutes simply watching.

Many discoveries happen when children are given enough time.

Why Earthworms Are So Important

Although earthworms are small, they play an enormous role in keeping forests, gardens, and parks healthy. As earthworms tunnel through the soil, they create small passages that allow air and water to reach plant roots more easily. They feed on dead leaves, grasses, and other decaying plant material. As they digest this material, they return nutrients to the soil in a form that plants can use. Healthy soil supports healthy trees, flowers, shrubs, and grasses. Without organisms like earthworms continually recycling dead plant material, forests would function very differently.

Every time your child finds an earthworm, they are observing one of nature's most important recyclers.

Why Hands On Learning Is So Important

Children remember experiences far longer than they remember facts.

A child may forget that earthworms help improve soil. They are much less likely to forget gently holding their first earthworm after discovering it beneath a log. When children can observe, compare, touch, and ask questions, learning becomes personal. That experience builds confidence.

The next time they visit a park, they begin noticing details they may have walked past before. Over time, those small observations become a lifelong habit of paying attention to the natural world.

Exploring Together

You do not need to know every answer. Children do not expect parents to be walking encyclopedias. Often the most powerful response is simply saying, "I don't know. Let's figure it out together." Those words teach children that learning never ends.

Every walk is an opportunity to discover something new together!

Try This On Your Next Nature Walk

The next time you visit a park after a gentle rain, look carefully beneath damp leaves or fallen logs without disturbing the habitat more than necessary.

If you find an earthworm, spend several minutes watching before touching.

Ask your child to describe everything they notice. Watch how it moves. Notice where it lives.

When you are finished observing, gently place the earthworm back exactly where you found it so it can continue its important work beneath the soil.

The Best Lessons Are On The Trail

Reading about worms is a great start, but seeing one in person is different. When a child watches an earthworm stretch and squeeze, feels it gently moving on their hand, and notices the damp soil where it lives, learning becomes real.

At Little Hikers Long Island, our goal is not only to teach children the names of plants, insects, and animals, but to help families slow down, notice the incredible life in their own local parks, and build strong observation skills while solving nature mysteries!

About Little Hikers Long Island

Little Hikers Long Island is a fully outdoor parent-and-child nature program at West Hills County Park in Huntington, New York. Through hands-on exploration, families learn about local plants, insects, animals, and seasonal changes found right here on Long Island.

Our goal is to help children build a relationship with the natural world they live in. That relationship helps build observation skills, outdoor confidence, and a sense of care and responsibility for nature.

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