Another ODC visit!

Here is a riddle for you:   What is a baby fish called?   (Read the blog to find out!)

We began our week with a second visit from Ruth Cronk from the Outdoor Discovery Center!   Today's lesson was about animals!  She began her visit by reading a book called "Animal Babies" by Bobbie Hamsa.  This book describes various animals with the adult and the baby name for each.  Mrs. Cronk then showed our class some posters with animals on them.  She discussed the way some animal babies look very similar to the parent, and some look very different than their parent.  She also talked about different animal families including the reptile family, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals.

Mrs. Cronk then passed out posters with adult and baby animals on them.  Our job was to find our 'partner' (adult/baby) and be able to name them when we went around the circle.  Finally, Mrs. Cronk brought in some real animals to show us.  We were even allowed to touch some of them!  After our lesson, the children drew pictures of adult animals with their baby, and labeled them.

 It is amazing how much the children already know, but with Mrs. Cronk here, all their knowledge was extended and so much more specific information was learned!   We are so fortunate to have these lessons!    Enjoy the pictures below and be sure to read the captions so that you can learn as well!

Mrs. Cronk reads "Animal Babies" to the class.  The book showed
various adult and baby animals and gave the names for each.

Mrs. Cronk explains the next activity.  We had to flip over our cards,
quietly find the partner (parent/baby) and discuss the name given
to the adult and to the baby.

We went around the circle after finding our partners and told the names.

Mrs. Cronk brought out a painted turtle.  It is a reptile, which means it is cold-blooded.
It lays eggs and the baby hatches from an egg.  Every turtle shell has 13 scales (called scoots)
on it's back.  How can you tell if it is a male or a female?   Males have long nails!

Mrs. Cronk brought along a taxidermy Eastern Screech Owl to show us.
Owls have stationary eyes, which means they can not move them left or right.
To compensate, they can twist their heads 270 degrees to look for prey or
predators!  They have sharp talons, a sharp beak, and feathers on their feet,
so they do not need to migrate.  Owls are nocturnal, so they hunt at night.
Baby owls are called owlets.

The green frog comes from the amphibian family.  Frogs need to stay wet in
order to breathe, but toads (also an amphibian) do not need to stay wet.  Both start
out life from an egg, then hatch into a tadpole.  Froglets and toadlets are the next
stage, and finally, the adult.  They are cold blooded and hibernate in mud in the
winter.  Only males croak to attract females.  

Mrs. Cronk brought in a fish.  Fish must stay in water at all times.  They have
scales and breathe using gills.  Mrs. Cronk also brought in a Blue spotted salamander.

Sassafras is a rabbit, which is a mammal.  Mammals are warm blooded.  She was
purchased from the Critter Barn when she was a year old.  If you find a baby
rabbit (called a bunny), let it be!  Bunnies will not survive if you take it away
from it's mother!  The mother has very specific milk that cannot be replicated, so
it would die if it still depends on it's mother to eat!

The children drew pictures of adult animals with their baby.  They also
wrote the name of each!

Mrs. Cronk enjoyed watching the children create their pictures.

Do you know the answer to the riddle?????

A baby fish is called a FRY!   You can remember that if you think of going to a fish fry to eat dinner!

Thank you to Mrs. Cronk and the Outdoor Discovery Center for a wonderful lesson!  We look forward to seeing Mrs. Cronk again in February!