Spiders are fun, too. I used to catch fat craneflies in my mom's lawn to feed to the big orb weavers.

This year we have a cluster of tiny babies next to our garage door.

Kristin

My mother allows spiders to live in her bathroom. She insists they recognize her and never bother her in any way. My kids are scared of Grandma's house.

I leave the spiders in the house be, too, usually *shrug*

Kristin

If you love earthworms, read Amy Stewarts book The Earth Moved. I just ordered a copy from Amazon,(which has used copies of just about everything for very little $.) It is really a fascinating look into the life and habits of earthworms. She has done a lot of research into this and has a nice style of writing.

I have started to be more aware of their existence now and actually think about watering areas to keep the worms happy.

They must be because I went out the other night with a flashlight to see if they were really there. Lo and behold! there were dozens of them all stretched out on a newly dug area of my front yard which is bare dirt at this point. I had sprinkled alfalfa meal on top along with a little bit of epsom salts. Pretty exciting. I also have a big bag of Starbucks coffee grounds which I sprinkled around which they love.

putting a plate with water and dog kibble on it (not much...) is of endless entertainment to small kids. The snails (if put on the plate) will happily absorb the water and eat the dog kibble.
Geckos and toads are also fun, and it does not take much to make them happy. Just a little water.