What Makes a Good Neighbor?

Grandma’s Opening Question: “If Tootie dug up all the earthworms in the garden, who else do you think would notice?”

Discussion Questions

1. What does a bird need from its backyard neighbors? What does it give back?
2. If all the insects disappeared from one backyard, what would happen to the birds? What about the flowers?
3. Can you think of a time a neighbor helped you without knowing it? Do animals do that too?
4. What makes someone — or something — a good neighbor?
5. If you could add one animal to your backyard to help the whole neighborhood, what would it be and why?

Teacher Notes

Guide students toward mutualism without using the term yet — let them discover that relationships go both ways. The earthworm example works well because kids universally underestimate worms. Follow up with Tootie’s Friend pages for the American Robin and Eastern Bluebird, both of which eat earthworms and are connected to garden health.