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Kids and composting were meant for each other. When you take part in compost activities for kids, take time to discuss what happens to garbage that isn't composted. Landfills are filling up at an alarming rate, and waste disposal options are becoming hard to find. You can introduce your kids to the basic principles of taking responsibility for the waste they generate through composting. For children, it will just seem like great fun.

How to Compost with Kids

Children will get more from the experience if they have their own compost container. A garbage can or plastic bin that is at least 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide is large enough to make compost. Drill 20 to 30 large holes in the lid and in the bottom and sides of the container to allow air in and let excess water drain through.

A good compost recipe includes three types of ingredients:

Dead plant material from the garden, including dry leaves, twigs and sticks.

Household waste, including vegetable scraps, shredded newspaper, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. Don't use meat, fat or dairy products or pet waste.

A layer of soil adds earthworms and microorganisms that are necessary to break down the other materials.

Add water now and then, and stir the container weekly with a shovel or large stick. Compost can be heavy, so little ones may need help with this.

Composting Ideas for Children

Soda Bottle Composting for Children

Children will enjoy making compost in a two liter soda bottle, and they can use the finished product to grow their own plants.

Rinse out the bottle, screw the top on firmly, and remove the label. Make a flip top in the bottle by cutting most of the way around about a third of the way down the bottle.

Place a layer of soil in the bottom of the bottle. Moisten the soil with water from a spray bottle if it is dry. Add a thin layer of fruit scraps, a thin layer of dirt, a tablespoon of fertilizer, chicken manure or urine, and a layer of leaves. Continue adding layers until the bottle is almost full.

Tape the top of the bottle in place and place it in a sunny location. If moisture condenses on the sides of the bottle, remove the top to let it dry out. If the contents look dry, add a squirt or two of water from a spray bottle.

Roll the bottle around every day to mix the contents. The compost is ready to use when it is brown and crumbly. This takes a month or so.

Worm Composting for Children

Children also enjoy worm composting. Make a "worm farm" out of a plastic bin by drilling several holes in the top, sides and bottom. Make bedding for the worms out of newspaper torn into strips and then soaked in water. Wring it out until it is the consistency of a damp sponge, and then fluff it up to form a layer about 6 inches deep in the bottom of the bin. Mist the bedding with a spray of water if it begins to dry out.

Red wigglers make the best composting worms. Use a pound of worms for a 2-foot square bin, or half a pound for smaller containers. Feed the worms by tucking fruit and vegetable scraps into the bedding. Start with a cup of scraps twice a week. If they have leftovers, cut back on the amount of food. If the food is completely gone, you might try giving them a little more.

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Composting Ideas For Children: How To Compost With Kids

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Kids and composting were meant for each other. When you take part in compost activities for kids, take time to discuss what happens to garbage that isn't composted. Landfills are filling up at an alarming rate, and waste disposal options are becoming hard to find.

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There are so many worms living inside the earth that it's impossible to list them all here. That said, there are some worm groups that are larger than others such as the earthworm and the inch worm. While there are more than 4,400 different types of worms, there are 2,700 different types or earthworm alone and more than 1,200 species of inch worm.

Earthworms can be found in just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, in bark, and under rocks as well as along rivers and near springs, and ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is in the earth's rich soil. During the winter months they burrow deep within the earth until the surface warms again during the spring. During the warm summer months, worms stay closer to the tops of soil where they create tunnels to wiggle in and out of. These tunnels are extremely important for plant life as they create a path for water and air, which is essential for the survival of plant life.

Places like China, Australia, Greenland, and the Sahara Desert have their own indigenous species of worms. Besides the Sahara Desert, you won't find large numbers of worms living in "sandy" areas, especially sandy beaches. The vast majority of worms on our planet can only survive under certain environmental conditions.

Worms have no lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm's environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. If the worm's skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. While worms need moisture to survive, too much moisture can be fatal. If too much water is present, it takes the place of oxygen, which will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed.

In addition to needing a moist environment for survival, worms must also remain close to their food supply. Worms feed off of leaves and dead grass, which contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms feast on dirt as well, especially if they live deeper inside the earth. Worms also eat plants, fruits and vegetables.

Although you cannot see them, believe it or not, worms do have mouths. The worm's mouth is actually big enough and powerful enough to grab a leaf and drag it around. They also have a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestine. When the worm eats its food, it pulls the materials into its mouth with the help of the pharynx and its prostomium (also called acron). This creates a suction motion. This suction motion aids in helping the worm consume large amounts of food in a sort amount of time. The gizzard grinds the food. Worms eat so much that they typically produce excrement equal to their own weight every 24 hours.

The worm's moist sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction as well. Worms prefer to mate and reproduce in warm moist soil, away from the light.

About the Inch Worm

An inch worm is the larvae of moths of the family Geometridae (phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Lepidoptera). This large, widely diffused group has more than 1,200 species indigenous to North America. Some inch worms (also "inchworm") are considered average while others are considered extraordinary. Inch worms do, however, have many common characteristics. They have smooth, hairless bodies, and they typically grow up to one inch in length. Their colors run the gamut from brown and black to bright green.

Also referred to as loopers, measuring worms, and spanworms, inch worms have three pairs of legs at the front end and two to three pairs of prolegs or larval abdominal appendages at the rear. Inchworms travel by drawing their hind end forward while gripping the earth with its prolegs. They have the ability to stand erect and motionless when poked or prodded in any way.

Much like spiders, some inch worms have the ability produce thin delicate lines. In some cases, these thin lines are made of silk. It just so happens that one of the most destructive types of inch worms, called cankerworms, produces soft silk threads as they drop from trees to evade predators. Also called measuring worms, cankerworms vary in color, but their bodies consist of long horizontal stripes. Cankerworms feed on shrub foliage and tree foliage. These creatures like to hang out in apples, elms, oaks, lindens, sweetgums, and a wide variety of other shade and fruit trees.

Another type of inch worm, also called Looper and Cabbage Looper, overwinters as green to brown pupae tightly wrapped in cocoons (not webs) of white thread. In the spring, the adult moth emerges. The adult lays its eggs, typically on the surface of leaves. Once the larvae emerge, they feed for two to four weeks. Once they've had their fill, the larvae spin cocoons similar to the ones used during the overwinter process. The larvae prefer vegetable gardens and they eat a variety of crops including: celery, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, Brussels sprouts, beans, parsley, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, and peas.

Unfortunately, larvae eating habits cause massive destruction to food crop foliage, by eating holes in the leaves. There are several; ways to control these types of inch worm infestations. Trichogramma wasps are natural predators as well as birds, yellow jackets and paper wasps. They are also controlled by natural diseases and parasites. "Wilt disease" causes the worms body to rot. This usually happens late in the season. "Bacillus thuringiensis," a wilt pathogen, is available to gardeners to help control infestations.

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There are so many worms living inside the earth that it's impossible to list them all here. That said, there are some worm groups that are larger than others such as the earthworm and the inch worm. While there are more than 4,400 different types of worms, there are 2,700 different types or earthworm alone and more than 1,200 species of inch worm.

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Sowbugs and pillbugs are similar-looking pests which are more closely akin to shrimp and crayfish than to insects. They are the only crustaceans that have adapted to living their entire life on land. Sowbugs and pillbugs live in moist environments outdoors but occasionally end up in buildings.

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NOVA | Decomposers

We've all been victimized by decomposers: Lettuce rots and bread becomes moldy. Bacteria and fungi often consume our food before we've had a chance to. However, if we stop to consider the important work that decomposers do, we may applaud their presence. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: Earth describes the role of decomposers in the living world.

This video is available in English and Spanish with closed captions.

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We've all been victimized by decomposers: Lettuce rots and bread becomes moldy. Bacteria and fungi often consume our food before we've had a chance to. However, if we stop to consider the important work that decomposers do, we may applaud their presence. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: Earth describes the role of decomposers in the living world.