A Journey Into the RiversWeek 1 Day 2 of 3Our second class of Summer Nature Kids program is a continuation of the river lesson. We will be focusing on the what lives in our rivers. I recommend first learning about what type of creatures live in or near the river beds. Then we take a hike at our local state park and observe the animal activity then discuss. Remember this is an interactive lesson so let the kids take a moment and come up with some answers as you go. What type of animals live on the river edge? Some of the animals can be seen around the rivers edge while others may be a little harder to spot. Many reptiles love to lounge out by the rocks you may spot a variety of snakes, or a turtle. There are a few different types of turtles that live around the river basins; painted, snapping, spotted, and wood. When walking near a river you need to cautious of where you step, because snakes love to make the damp leaves their homes. There are multiple types of snakes that can swim, but there are no actual species of snakes that live in water. The variety of snakes can range from friendly to deadly; black racer, garter snake, milk snake, and the deadly water moccasin. Larger reptiles like American alligators are found in the southeastern United States, such as Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas. Alligators like the mud, and vegetation around a slow moving river bed. What are the top 3 characteristics of a reptile? What is the deadliest water snake? Can you tell me what an amphibian is? In the areas that the water pools together you will see some frogs, and some salamanders. These amphibians lay their eggs in the river water and the larvae breathe through gills. Over time, they grow lungs to breathe air. Once tadpoles lose their tails they become frogs and grow legs to live on land. Salamanders look a bit like lizards. They have skinny bodies, short legs, and long tails. A cool fact about Salamanders is they can re-grow lost body parts. Although these amphibians may be cute they are carnivorous they eat small insects like spiders, beetles, and worms. What animals live near the river edge? You can spot some mammals like deer, muskrats and river otters can be spotted coming to the river. You may spot some small mammals like mice or water voles that dig burrow in the banks of the river to make their homes. If you are lucky you may spot an otter or beaver these animals live both on land and in water. There thick muscle in their lower bodies help them navigate through the heavy current. You can also spot foxes who may even be hunting a rabbit who comes down for a drink. Rabbits will thumbing of their back legs to notify others of a predator in their midst. Do you think mammals that live by the river can survive without the river? What creatures do you think lives inside the river water? If you look inside the river water you can spot a variety of fish including trout, eels, mullets, bully's, molly's and catfish. You can take some bait, and a fishing pole to fish out some lunch after your hike. If you have an adventurous palate you can use a net and scoop up an assortment of crustations like worms, snails, crawfish and insects. What would you eat out of the river? HOMEWORK: Right a paragraph on your observations from our hike at the river.
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As a mom of three boys who go to public school I started to notice that some things were not being taught in detail so I decided to create lessons for them. Many of these lessons cover science, history and of information about Paganism. I share crafts for the all different holidays and cultures as ways that they can learn and have fun at the same time.
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