For farmers and gardeners, slugs and snails may be serious pests that will limit the amount of harvest, but for a child, they represent a world to be explored. To teachers, however, invertebrates are tools for broadening students’ understanding about animals, the connections between animals and habitats or plants, and an engaging subject to write about. This month’s column describes how science teachers can cultivate an invertebrate garden that will yield a bountiful harvest just in time for the first day of school.