We are rowing Andy and the Circus this week and I wanted to find time to go to a pond to look for tadpoles. This was spurred on by a comment Isaiah made when he told me he had never seen a tadpole. Huh? Really? I thought we needed to change that!
So today we worked on our boxes, finishing most of them before lunch despite a late start. Then we went to Chick-fil-a for a lunch treat. :-) We then went to a nearby lake to have a picnic and then look for tadpoles.
It turned out to be a really, really warm afternoon (high 80s). I'm not ready for the heat yet! lol We saw geese in the pond.
We also saw some mallards - Mr and Mrs and one of their ducklings. Some of my children were trying to figure out "which one" it was - Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, etc. (This is from Make Way for Ducklings which we recently read too.)
As we were walking down a path, Isaiah stepped off of the path and found a hole that intrigued him. He wanted us to look and we asked if there was anything in the hole.
To my surprise, there was something in that hole. A tiny, little turtle. He was about 1-1.5 inches in length.
I had brought along clipboards and paper in case we found something we wanted to draw for our nature journals. I really need to get/make some nature journals for the younger boys. Thankfully the pencils were still tied on from our Moonjellies dinner because I did forget pencils. LOL
After drawing and writing a bit about the turtle, we walked a little further down the path. We found several spots that looked perfect for tadpoles, but only saw lots of small fish. The kids tried to catch some with the cups from our lunch - but no luck.
Daniel was able to use his happy meal toy - a monocular - for taking a closer look at things. It worked really well too. Chick-fil-a has the best toys!
We also saw some turtles. You can see the one sunning himself on the log. Can you also see two more with their heads popping up out of the water?
It was a nice afternoon. We all agreed that we need to return again soon. We left when the heat was too much and Eliana was more than ready for a nap. I'm glad we are able to do things like this. I love seeing God's handiwork all around us.
Thanks for sharing our day.
Blessings,
Leslie
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WOW!
ReplyDeleteWe have to go to a zoo to see turtles!
Love Leanne
http://atthegoodlife.blogspot.com/
I love Chick-Fil-A toys too. They always work and are often educational to some degree. What a wonderful park day.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Dawn
Oooh turtles, it's about time for them to start crossing our yard! I had forgotten.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great day!
Are part of the ongoing list of why homeschooling blesses my socks off! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day! Love your pictures of nature and seeing your kids enjoy it, Leslie. :)
ReplyDeleteWish you lived closer as we have tadpoles out our ears! Seriously. Guess ya can't mail them, huh.
I just had to chuckle out loud. We have that same little toy and my Mr 5 keeps it handy 24-7. He even slept with it last night!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteAmblin Kristin
sounds like a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteThanks friends for enjoying our day with us. It is a fun part of homeschooling to be able to do this in the middle of the day. I'm trying to take advantage of the nice weather before it gets too hot!
ReplyDeleteLeanne – I can’t believe turtles are in the zoo. They are obviously all over around here. I think they are really cute – especially the really little one we saw.
Hey Leslie,
ReplyDeleteA few years ago when visiting my grandmother, she told my boys about catching tadpoles in a jar when she was a little girl. She recommended that we catch some and watch them grow into frogs. Of course the boys were all into that, but I never imagined it would work just right. We did what she suggested, catching the tadpoles and letting them develop in an aquarium on our deck. It ended up being a facinating "experiment" for all of us. It was amazing to see the baby tadpoles transform into right before our eyes. We had an official "jumping off" celebration the day we released them back into the lake behind our house. I highly recommend this amazing activity.
Also, the tiny turtle you found is similar to our pet turtle, "Sandy." He is about a year old now, and we have all grown to love him and his personality. Who would ever believe that a turtle has personality?! Ours does! Sany is a "map turtle."
I love reading about all your educational activities. I wish I could go to your school. lol :)
Love, Cyndi