On a whim, I went with R* today to a fishing tackle shop and asked how I could take my daughter fishing. For £12, the shop set me up with everything I needed including a small tub filled to the brim with wriggling maggots. Absolutely revoluting. We took them home and freaked out Jenny. R* had no problems putting her hands into the boiling seething mass of them. I guess revulsion is a something that's learned.
Then I took K* and R* to a nearby river where we could fish for free. In the UK, children under twelve don't need a fishing license. They could fish but I couldn't. I left it to R* to pierce the maggots onto the hook. I really didn't want to touch them! She was completely unphased and became quite adept at hooking them. The idea is to sprinkle a few maggots into the river to attract the fish and then drop your hooked maggot in the same spot.
It worked a treat. Fishing off a bridge, we caught twelve fish in about an hour and a half. They ranged in size from about four to six inches. After catching each fish, we just unhooked it and threw it back.
So the whim turned out well. Excellent activity to do with the kids as long as you don't mind maggots.
When we had finished, I got R* to empty the maggots into the river and later stick the tub in the fridge for Jenny to find...