Slug Love?

I have a confession to make. Despite being a nature lover, I've never liked slugs. My distaste for them goes back to a very wet camping holiday in Wales when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I love camping, but on this occasion our tent became a slug superhighway. It seemed to me that they were EVERYWHERE.

But now that we're back in lockdown, with friends in short supply, I'm learning to love them. Like all organisms, they are part of our delicately-balanced ecosystem, and have an important place in it. They're a food source for birds and hedgehogs, and play a vital role in breaking down decaying matter.

We went on a minibeast hunt in the garden, but there's not much around at the moment. Most of the bugs are hiding away to escape the winter weather. But open up the lid of your compost bin and you'll be sure to find a few slugs, working hard to turn vegetable peelings into new soil. We particularly liked the leopard slug pictured above, so named because of its spotty pattern. How cool to find a LEOPARD in the garden!

Story Time

Slug Needs a Hug by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross is a funny story about a slug who tries to win his mummy's affection by dressing up as lots of different animals. (Spoiler alert - she can't hug him - they have no arms!) You could take this opportunity to talk to your child about the features that different animals have and what they use them for. Can you draw your own slug with silly features: glasses, wings, or even roller skates!

There's also lots of rhyming in the story. Why not play a rhyming game e.g. 'I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with... great' (plate) etc. For more rhyming madness check out the 'Oi' series of books by Kes Gray and Jim Field. The first one is Oi Frog. They've been a huge hit in our house.

Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra is another story about a slug with identity issues! Norman really wants to be a snail, but can't find the perfect shell. Here's a chance to have a conversation with your child about different materials and their properties. What would happen to a shell made from a paper cup? Or one made from metal or wood?

Tactile Play

Practise your fine motor skills by rolling some play dough into a long thin slug. Can you make it into a leopard slug with spots, like Blake has in this fab creation?

It's pretty easy to make your own play dough. I get the best results from this recipe. If you haven't got any cream of tartar there's an even simpler recipe here.

And for a real treat, how about making your own slug slime? You will be a hero in your child's eyes - they love slime! There are various kits you can buy, and complicated recipes involving glue, but my favourite way to do it is incredibly simple:

• measure out one cup of cornflour;
• add a few drops of food colouring to half a cup of water;
• mix the water into the flour.

The resulting mixture is so much fun to play with, because it goes hard, but then when you squeeze it it becomes liquid again. It's an example of a non-Newtonian fluid - pretty neat!

For more stories and activity ideas check out my previous blogposts.

Virtual slug hugs to you all!