Exploring Tide Pools

Last weekend my son and I hit the road and headed for the coast. I was seizing this opportunity for a mini-vacation for Bode because I know all too well how summer can slip away in a blink of an eye. The beach is by far one of my favorite summer destinations and with a son in tow it has become an absolute must.

This time instead of heading to just any beach, I thought that we would visit some tide pools. Not to say that the ordinary Oregon beaches aren't spectacular in themselves, I just thought I would expose my son to an interactive environment incredibly rich in learning opportunities that he's never been before. My internet research pointed us in the direction of Yaquina Head. With my co-pilot on board (AKA "Robin) and mama at the wheel (for purposes of this trip let's just say my name was "Batman"), the car (Bat Mobile) was fueled up and ready for some adventure!

When we arrived mid-afternoon, it was unfortunately high tide, and, of course, the best time to visit a tide pool is low tide (which comes 2 times a day). We were staying at the coast a few days and so planned to return in the morning during low tide. We explored where we could this 1st day, and visited the Interpretation Center on our way out.

We were able to look out onto the cliffs with power-binoculars that the interpreters provided and view the sea gulls and albatrosses. Even 2 gull chicks. They were all clustered on the top of a huge bird poop-stained rock. We learned that the albatrosses actually use the bird poop as glue for their nests so they don't blow away in the wind!

Also we walked down onto the beach that was filled with rounded basalt cobble stones. This was a result of volcanic activity and weathering from the ocean waves.

Then on our way out we stopped at the Interpretation Center and picked up this lovely book: In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails and Salty Tails, by Anthony D. Frederick.
That night, once we settled into our hotel, I read to Bode our new book. Each page introduces a new creature that is found in a tide pool with beautiful pictures, and rhyming verse. I felt this was the perfect introduction to what we might see in the next day. (*note: the author has compiled a number of activities to accompany the book here)

In the morning, we returned in anticipation for low tide, which just happened to occur at the very perfect late morning hour of 10 AM. We were sure to wear closed-toed shoes for easy walking.

This time around the outcropping of rocks were visible as the tide had gone out quite significantly.

As we walked out onto the rocks we were very careful where we stepped. We avoided stepping on and hurting the sea life, such as this colony of mussels.

An interpreter was present and taught us about the behaviors of the tide pool creatures. Like, for instance, when sea stars are eating they turn themselves inside out. One of their favorite things to eat are mussels. 

We saw sea stars of all different colors — oranges, purples and pinks. Despite this difference among them, we learned that the ones we saw in the tide pool were in fact all of the same species.

I love how the sea stars look all together like this!

Aggregating anemone (the green circular creature), and coralline algae (the coral-like plant) were a common sight in the pools.

The interpreter illustrated to us first that it was OK to touch the anemones. Bode was brave and got right in there. I, on the other hand, was the one who shrieked because of the sensation! It was quite a thrill.

The anemone's mouth (the center of the creature) is surrounded by feeding tentacles that look to me like petals of a flower. When touched, these tentacles close up and are capable of stinging crustaceans, fish and the like. When a human touches these anemones, however, we feel a stickiness. The stinging cells of the anemone cannot penetrate through the flesh on our hands — fortunately! 

Purple urchins also dotted the pools. These were also "touchable".
 

Holding a crab!

I was fascinated to stumble upon this "red sponge" that looked like red spilled liquid.

When our exploration felt complete, we elected to top off the day by climbing the historic Yaquina lighthouse positioned on the cliffside above.

Built in 1870, the guide told us of how the lighthouse keeper used to have to lug heavy containers of oil to keep the lighthouse lit at night. Still a functioning lighthouse, electricity has replaced the need for oil.

Here is Bode climbing the 114 steps to the top!

What a day we had! It was music to my ears to hear my son say as we drove away, "Thank you, mom. That was actually a lot of fun!" I think we will be returning here many times to come!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid activity ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a wonderful day.

And now onward to our weekly linky party! Enjoy!

Sea Horse Craft

This week is Eric Carle's birthday, the beloved author and illustrator of many modern classics, including, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and "Papa, Please get the Moon for me".

We love his books in our household. In celebration of Mr. Carle turning 83, I decided to read his book "Mister Seahorse" and do a colorful textured craft with my son reminiscent of the paintings in his book. "Mister Seahorse" is about a male seahorse who is going to have babies! Mrs. Seahorse deposited the eggs in his pouch and he goes about meeting other male sea animals who also care for their unborns in unusual ways. As he meets each creature, many are hidden at first, and it was fun to have my son try to spot them. When the pages were turned, the creatures became unobscured. This provided a good opportunity to discuss the word "camouflage" with him. This was a sweet book, and my son enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now onward to our craft!

First we gathered up the materials:

• 3 colors of tempera paint (I had my son choose his favorites, yellow, orange, blue)
• 3 textured materials to apply the paint: a sponge, bubble wrap, and an egg carton. 
• 3 containers/surfaces to hold paint that will accommodate size of textured materials (for sponge I used a simple little bowl, for bubble wrap I used a meat tray, and for egg carton I used a cafeteria food tray. 
• Paper cut out in shape of a sea horse (I used this image as a guide to hand-draw the outline)
• A googly eye

 

First my son used a sponge and stamped yellow paint over the entire surface of seahorse shape.

Then my son pressed the bubble wrap onto 2nd paint color (spread out on meat tray) and then stamped it on paper.

Then he pressed the egg carton into the 3rd color of paint and stamped it down onto the paper, covering the entire surface. 

As the last step he glued on the eye.

Voila! How do you like it?

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a wonderful day!

Ocean watercolor and crayon picture

I remember making these under the sea pictures when I was a child. A wash of watercolor over a crayon drawing lends itself perfectly to an underwater painting. It is always a delight to see how the watercolor resists the waxy area on the paper, and how the picture turns out when all is said and done. 

First I had my son draw creatures, plants and objects that he might find under the surface of the ocean. I encouraged him to press hard with the crayon, and to color in the objects.

My son referred to the tutorials in my favorite drawing book "Let's Draw Animals" by Ann Davidow, when drawing some of his sea creatures. This gem of a book is still available through Amazon here.

I also found the Hello Kids website which has many easy step-by-step tutorials on drawing sea animals as well as other kinds of animals.

I decided to draw my own picture alongside of him. I could tell by his energy that he really enjoyed his mama partaking in the activity rather than just directing it. That felt so good to me, and I made a mental note to "draw" more often with him. I made inquiries about my drawing out loud to stimulate his thought about ocean life. "Hmmm, I wonder what I would find at the bottom of the ocean. What should I draw?" He came up with creative answers, yet accurate, "volcanoes, anchors, seaweed". I taught him some facts that I know about the ocean, such as:

• In some places you might find coral at the bottom of the ocean. Some corals are hard, like a rock, but it really is a plant, and as such it breathes in carbon dioxide and lets out oxygen which we need to breathe. 
• Male seahorses give birth, not the females, as in most species.
• Fish can't close their eyes, because they have no eyelids
• An octopus can squirt out a dark ink to escape from predators
• Blue whales are the biggest living animal in the world — they weigh as much as 30 elephants put together

After he was done drawing his ocean scene, I then had him paint a wash of blue watercolor over the paper. He was thrilled with this part.

This is a fun, easy and highly gratifying craft. I recommend it to kids of all ages (even the grown-up kind)!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a wonderful day!

Make an Ocean in a Bottle & Kid's Co-op Link up Party

I personally love this craft! I made this with my son about 2 years ago, and thought that we would revisit it. The materials are easy to gather, and the bottle takes minutes to put together.

 First we gathered up the materials:

• Oil (I like to keep on hand the cheapest oil I can find at the store specifically for crafts like this, or playdough, etc)
• An empty plastic bottle with cap
• Blue Watercolor (ours is from Discount School Supply), food dye would work fine too
• Glitter
• Other objects that represent the ocean (sand, shells, a shark)
• Funnel
• Liquid measuring cup (only because it is easy to pour from, we didn't use it for measuring)

First, I had my son pour water into the bottle to about the half-way mark, and then I had him put in the watercolor.

 Then I had him add the glitter.

We squeezed the rubber floaty shark in, and then poured some oil in. Next time I will remember not to use ocean creatures that float, and use instead the solid plastic ones that sink to the bottom — that way the sea creatures stay in the ocean part.

Before the oil reached the top, we put the sand and the shells in. 

We then poured oil as high up as it could go to the top and capped it, turning it as tightly as I could. Last time I think I put special glue inside the cap to make sure it stayed sealed. I didn't do that this time, as I felt secure that I screwed the top tight enough that it wouldn't come loose.

Voila! My son had fun putting it up to the light and watching the waves tumble back and forth. Such a gratifying easy craft that I highly recommend!

Things Bode learned:

• Oil and water don't mix
• Oil is actually lighter in weight than water and floats to the top.
• The watercolor mixes with the water and not with the oil, because it is water-based.

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Now onto the Link-up Party! Have a wonderful day!