Earthworm Wonder - The babysitter files

This is my most recent addition to the babysitter files. This little conversation transpired on July 31st when two of my little charges were searching for earthworms and caterpillars:

Caleb: Look an earth worm!

Me: OOOh, look at that.

Caleb: whoa it's really wiggly and floppy.

Me: Yeah it's looking for the dirt to dig into. Did you know that earthworms are good for plants and flowers?

Caleb: How are they good for the plants and flowers?

Me: Hmm (thinking of how to explain this to a 7 y/o)

Well, when you eat dinner you start with a full plate right?

Caleb: Uh uh

Me: The earth is like a full plate too. It has food for the plants and flowers that we call nutrients. Just as your plate is empty after you eat off of it, so the earth's food or nutrients "gets empty." It needs to be "refilled" too. The earthworm's, um, poop helps put those nutrients back into the dirt and "fill up the plate again" so that the plants can eat more.

Caleb: But how does the poop help the earth?

Me: You know buddy, I don't exactly know how it works but I know it does!

Caleb: (in complete awe) I didn't know that earthworms were so good. I won't collect them anymore.

The conversation was simple. My explanation rather inadequate. Yet the ability to pass on a little sliver of God's amazing plan of creation; to see the wonder in those young keen eyes... there is just nothing like it!

But now um, if you will excuse me, I need to do a wee bit of research of earthworms...