Preschool Worms Snails and Slugs Theme

Below you can find tons of fun and engaging Preschool  worms snails and slugs activities!
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Planning your Worms Snails and Slugs Preschool Theme 

Club Members can download our Worms Snails and Slugs activities  and Theme Planning Guide for free!
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Download our Free Worms Snails and Slugs Preschool Sample Lesson Plan

Snail Spin Art

Introduce your preschoolers to spin art! 
This fun snail spin art craft is an extension idea from our Free Swirl by Swirl Pre-K Book Companion pack
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Create a Tissue Paper Snail

Here is an opportunity for Artist Exploration. 
Read the book Snail Trail by Jo Saxton, or watch it on YouTube.
After the story invite children to "paint with scissors" using tissue paper to create a snail. Children can glue the tissue paper to a paper plate, then use the printable freebie from the Snail Spin Art tutorial for the body. 

Materials to Spark Creation

Add some fun materials to spark creation and allow for free exploration in the art space this week. Some ideas: Shells, Garden Stencils, Paper Plates, Spirograph, Fake Worms, and Yarn. You will also want to add extra brown paper and markers to the space this week. 

Worm Tracks

Supply preschoolers with thick yarn or string, paint, and card stock. Squirt a few drops of paint on the cardstock. Cut a long piece of yarn for each child. Invite them to drag the yarn through the paint to make worm tracks on the paper
​**biocolors would be fun for this project or invite your preschoolers
to a color mixing activity to make brown

Invitation to Paint with Rubber Worms

Paint with rubber worms! Provide your students with realistic rubber worms, paper, and paint. Allow them to create their own worm painting process art using these materials.
Find more details on this Painting with Rubber Worms Blog Post
Invitation to Paint with Rubber Worms
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Dirt Cup Snack

Create Dirt Cups with chocolate pudding, chocolate cookies, and gummy worms for snack.

Gastropod Study Station

Malacologist's study snails and slugs.  
Add photographs​ of snails and slugs, magnifying glasses, and shells.
**If you have the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack you can add the Label the Parts of a Snail  and the  3-Part Vocabulary Cards to this station. "Transform your Dramatic Play Stand into a Gastropod Study Station.
Add photographs​ of snails and slugs, magnifying glasses, and shells. 
**If you have the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack you can add the Label the Parts of a Snail  and the  3-Part Vocabulary Cards to this station. 

Pretend to be Worms

Put a brown sheet over a table, children can crawl underneath pretending to be worms underground

Gardening

Add gardening tools outside for children to pretend to be scientists studying gastropods and worms. 

Bait Shop

Transform your dramatic play stand into a bait shop. 
Add all kinds of play worms, some little buckets, bobbers (no hooks), and pretend fishing poles. You could also set up a "pond" nearby using a large blue blanket or silk scarves. 

Pretend to be a Snail

Gather a variety of boxes that preschoolers could put on their backs to pretend to be snails. Decorate the boxes as snail shells (preschoolers could help with this!). Add ribbon at each side of the box, so they can tie the boxes on their backs or ribbon with Velcro for easy attachment. Let them move around like snails and imagine how snails would interact with one another. You could even add items from the forest to the center that they could use in their play!

Construct a Worm, Snail, & Slug Habitat

Invite your preschoolers to create a pretend worm, snail, & slug habitat.  Add pretend worms, snails & slugs, brown felt (dirt), and rocks.  Encourage them to consider what type of materials these creatures use and what they can use to represent those materials. ​
Add plenty of photos for inspiration!

Invitation to Build Snails

In a tray, put out a few different colors of play dough, rocks or other round objects, small pipe cleaners, googly eyes, etc. Invite preschoolers to construct their own snail using the materials.

Snail Shell Stack

Purchase snail shells. Invite students to try to stack the shells on top of each other to make the highest tower.

Build a Spiral

Read: Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman and create spirals using blocks.

*Where's My Shell?
​Uppercase & Lowercase File Folder Game

Invite preschoolers to practice uppercase and lowercase letter matching with this file folder game included in the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack
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Worm Hunt and Find Letter Matching Game*

Use pretend worms to create letters! 
Reader  Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center shared this photo of how she used the letter cards from the Worm Hunt and Find Letter Matching game from the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack. ** Building letters with pretend worms is  a great opportunity to talk about curvy and straight lines when constructing letters. 
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Snail Trails and Letters

Create snail trails with chalk outside. Invite children to follow the snail trail from left to right, top to bottom.
Make a reference about how books are read in the same manner. 

Sorting S and W  words

This activity is a way for preschoolers to start recognizing first letters and seeing learning how letters are formed. 
Sort the 3-part cards into words that start with S  and words that start with W.
This activity is included in our Worms, Snails, and Slugs Activity Pack
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Swirl by Swirl Free Pre-K Book Companion

Read the fun book Swirl by Swirl by Joyce Sidman then follow up with the vocabulary review, discussion questions, book review and craft included in our Free Swirl by Swirl Pre-K Book Companion
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​Provide a lot of books about these little creatures,
be sure to include fun stories as well as non-fiction reference books and early reader books. 
Here are some of my favorite books about Worms, Snails, & Slugs to get your lessons off on the right foot!
Are You a Snail? by Judy Allen
Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser
Sammy the Snail's Amazing Day by Sandrine Lahomme
Under One Rock by Anthony D. Fredericks
Snails Are Just My Speed! By Kevin McCloskey

Let's Measure Worms and Slugs*

Set up a Worms and Slugs measuring invitation in your math center this week with this activity found inside our Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack.
Thank you to reader Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center for
​sharing photos of these activities! 
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Digging For Worms Counting Mats*

I love the way Reader Erica P. of Erica's Educare Learning Center incorporated pretend rubber worms into the Digging For Worms Counting Mats from the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack!
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Buckets of Worms

Gather 10 buckets or containers. Mark each bucket with a number (either write on or tape paper) so you have one for each number 1-10. 
Next, you will need a basket of worms! You can use math counters like these from Learning Resources, strips of construction paper, or the printable worms from the our  ​Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack. 
Challenge children to count out the worms and add the corresponding number to each bucket. 

Count and Clip Cards*

Work on counting skill, number recognition, hand-eye coordination along with fine motor skills with these count and clip cards ​included in the Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack
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Worm Sorting

Cut long, medium, and short sized pieces of strings to make worms or you can purchase fake plastic worms of different sizes. Have your preschoolers sort the worms based on size (small in one bowl, medium in another, and long in another). You can put a model in each bowl to help them or allow them to do it completely independently. Add a fine motor component by having your preschoolers use tweezers or tongs to pick up the worms and put them in the correct bowl.

Worm Math Snack

Give each child a variety of gummy worms to count up! Another opportunity is to point out the designs and colors on the gummy worms and make patterns.

Feed the Bird Counting

Don't you love when themes overlap and you can get more use out of activities?
This Feed the Bird activity from our Birds Theme is a great addition to this theme as well.
Try this activity for free!
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Create a Worm Farm

Create a DIY Worm Farm! See the tutorial here
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Earthworm Life Cycle*

Learn about the life cycle of Earthworms! Use this printable included in our Worms, Snails, & Slugs Activity Pack as a guide. 
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Worm Sensory Play

 Fill your sensory bin up with Kinetic "Play Dirt", soil or wet sand. Bury pretend worms for children to discover. Other filler items to consider this week: used coffee grounds, dry black beans, cooked cold spaghetti noodles, slime.

What's the Difference?

Learn a bit about slugs including how they differ from snails. Share this short youtube video with your preschoolers or watch for yourself and share the information. **Before watching the video invite your preschoolers to think of ways slugs might be different than snails. Write down their ideas, see if any were proven or disproved in the video. 

Search for Worms, Snails, & Slugs

Get out and get dirty! Search for Worms, Snails, & Slugs in their natural habitat. 
When you find them, take photos and have a discussion.  Talk about their habitat. What materials do they notice? Is the area dry or wet? Are there puddles of water? How about shelter? What do they eat?
If they had a pet _____ what materials would they need to recreate their habitat? 
**Extension ideas:
  • Invite children to construct a pretend habitat in the block center.
  • Set up a habitat in the classroom and bring in a creature for observation
  • Set up an invitation to draw or cut and paste to make a habitat with paper. 
  • Read a fact book about worms, snails, or slugs

Worm Slug Snail Observation

Place a snail, slug, and or worm in the classroom for brief observation. Encourage preschoolers to draw the creature. Set out plenty of books that will answer all the questions they will have!
**If time and materials permit, observe each of these creatures. After the observations invite children to make comparisons. 

Use Dough to Create Worms, Snails, & Slugs

Learning to roll dough between their hands to make snakes is great for physical development and helps them in developing skills to craft more complex play dough creations.
For older preschoolers challenge them to use clay this week. It can be a bit harder to work with which beefs up the workout for their little hands. 

Garden Creature Obstacle Course

Create a garden creature obstacle course! Include tunnels to encourage preschoolers to wiggle through like worms, large rocks (or item to represent a rock) to glide over like a snail, logs, etc. 

Snail Relay Race

Supply pillows, billibos, or cardboard boxes to act as snail shells.
Pile up the "snail shells" at the starting line. The first child puts on his shell, then moves across the floor to the goal on the other side, and back. They then tag the next snail to get moving!

Weaving worms

Provide pipe cleaners (worms) and a strainer, encourage preschoolers to weave the pipe cleaners through the strainer.

Wormy Pick Up

Add rubber worms to a plastic shoe box that is filled with newspaper, or brown crinkle paper (dollar tree). Provide your child with tweezers and encourage them to pick out the worms (practice counting each one you find)!

Get Moving with Music

Herman the Worm is a fun song for preschoolers from The Learning Station that incorporates math skills too!

Self-Regulation like a Worm, Snail, & Slug

Preschoolers develop at a rapid speed, learning ways to handle their emotions can be difficult. I love what Community Member Ashley T. suggested for this theme...
"Slow down their thinking like a snail, dig deep into who they are like a worm, and always leave their own trail like a slug"
As an extension of this discussion you can place images of these creatures in your calm down space or prominent location in your learning environment as a reminder for preschoolers and adults. 

Move Like a....Worm, Snail, or Slug

There are several ways you can play this game with kids!
  • Print photos of these creatures, draw from a jar and challenge children to move like the drawn creature. 
  • Take turns, one at a time choose one of the creatures and move like it. Everyone else guesses which creature they are moving like. 
  • Play sloooooow music and encourage children to move like the creatures. Supply tunnels as well as things children can squeeze through like pillows. 

Positive Contributions

This idea comes from reader Destiny H. 
She suggested talking about the amount of work each creature does to support the ecosystem. Each contributes in a positive way! Encourage preschoolers to think about what they can do to make the earth a better place. 
This would be a great follow-up to observing Worms, Snails, and Slugs such as a Worm Farm or this
Build a Worm Viewer from Spell Out Loud. 
Book Suggestion for this activity: It's a Good Thing there are Earthworms by Jodie Sheperd

Get up & Move, Don't Be a Slug!

This idea was contributed by reader Lori O. 
Use slugs to make a connection for preschoolers between emotional health and physical health. 
​Follow-up an observation of slugs (either real or a video) with a discussion about how worms, snails, and slugs move. Mention how important movement is for the brain! Then....get moving! 

Dirt and Germs

This idea shared by our reader Laurie C. packs in so many different skills!
"Let them dig under your rocks for worms in your garden before you plant your plants !! Tell them it’s okay to get dirty ... then reinforce hand-washing remind them some germs can be seen like dirt and some are invisible. "
I love how she included this as a precursor for getting ready for gardening. This is great for children learning planning skills and contribution. As educators we are always encouraging hand-washing, using this activity as a teachable moment is fantastic! 

Snail Race Game-Teamwork

Play this fun game in a small group.
Choose a mainpulatives to use as playing pieces. You could use pom poms, snail erasers, or snail math counters. 
Take turns rolling the playing cube and moving your piece around the board. Encourage children to identify the shapes they roll. If they cannot identify a shape use descriptions to help them recall "This shape has 4-sides, what shapes do we know that have 4 sides"

Slowly Slowly

Here is a fun rhyme that teaches the concept of slow with your preschoolers from Jbrary.
Follow along with their Youtube video, and get the lyrics, and some tricks and tips!

Being Respectful and Safe with Living Things

Bring snails, worms, or slugs into the classroom for students to observe. Talk about the rules for observing them and how we can be respectful and safe with living things.

How Does the Snail Feel

Create snails that show different emotions. Hold them up and have students identify the emotions. Talk about what could make the snail feel that way. Use the snails to have students identify their emotions for the day.

Worm Feelings Dance

Have your students imagine how a worm would dance. Then invite them to show different worm dances based on emotions. Example, "Show me an angry worm dance" or "Show me a happy worm dance."

Singing to the Worms

Worms need love just like we do! Learn and sing this fun song about worms.

Communication

Send home a note about this upcoming theme. Include some of the planned activities. Ask for donations of items that could be used for these activities such as a terrarium for an observation tank, snail shells, or time to contribute to a big project.  By communicating what you are doing in the program, parents can engage their children at home and talk about the same topic and help make real world connections. 

Family Involvement-Backyard creature Hunt

Encourage families to go on a Backyard Creature Hunt. See what creatures they can find in the backyard. Children can then talk about what they found during circle time or even share a photo. A picture of a worm may not be big news to adults, but I guarantee it will be a HIT with the preschoolers. And they can never see too many. 

Worms Snails and Slugs Preschool Activity Pack

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Free Swirl by Swirln Pre-K Book Companion Set

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Feed the Bird Preschool Counting Game

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Learning Centers

Preschool Learning Centers are commonly referred to as Preschool Centers, or Learning Spaces. These are activity areas dedicated to a specific type of of play and exploring a variety of topics and activities. Download our Free set of Center Signs!