63 Acres and a Toddler

Snails and Turtles:
Wetland Armor

For our wetland species focus day, we looked at two animals that have shells: turtles and snails.

This was a day packed with books and activities. We started out by flipping through one of my reference books about turtles, and commenting on the differences between turtles and tortoises, and shapes and markings on their shells, and what kinds of foods the different species eat. Story time commenced on the couch, and we read as many books on the subjects of turtles and snails as I could find in our house.

We also took a trip to our local nature center, where they have some rescued animals on exhibit. Our favorite to see is always Stubbs, a snapping turtle. A clear bridge crosses over his little pond, so we can watch him swimming underneath our feet (when he isn't hiding behind a rock). They also have painted turtles, red-eared sliders, musk turtles, eastern box turtles, and a few other species.

When we returned home, I took out a snapping turtle shell from my collection for Evie to examine. We talked about turtle anatomy.

I then found a zoology coloring book with diagrams of snail anatomy. We discussed the differences between terrestrial, aquatic, and semi-aquatic snails. Sadly, it is still far to cold out to find a snail, so we will have to revisit this topic in the summer so that we may bring a couple into our house for a week or so to study.

Crafts

Snails: While perusing Pinterest, I found a cute post about making snails with Play-Doh and shells. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/487725834639119027/ Since we have an over-abundance of little shells in our collection, this was quick and easy to put together.
Turtles: This was another easy, low-prep activity. We made paper plate turtles. Materials: paper plates, green construction paper, a glue stick, stick-on googly eyes, a black crayon, and green paint. I cut out the head, tail, and four legs, and Evie glued them to the plate and stuck on the eyes. Then I drew a quick shell pattern on the plate, and then Evie painted it green.
Turtles and Snails: We found some pages in a Crayola coloring book and colored together.