Monday, June 15, 2015

A Morning Learning at the Beach

I love going to the beach with the families of StrongStart.  The children are so curious and adventurous.  It always impresses me how many children will pick up crabs with no hesitation. 
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       We spent the morning at one of our local beaches with Natasha from
                         West Coast Environmental Education Society.
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    The Society promotes knowledge, appreciation and respect for the natural
          environment through its education program, science & nature.
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Natasha walked us out to the tide pools armed with tubs and strainers for
                                              collecting.

      Here is a glimpse of some of the fascinating creatures we found.
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We then took our finds and put them in white trays to get a better look.
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We found fish, shells, hermit crabs, jelly fish, pile worm, lots of crabs (big and small),
                               sea stars, snails, and limpets.
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                                 Some of us even saw a deer.

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         Natasha showed us a safe way to pick up a crab so it can’t pinch us.
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And how to tell the difference between a male (lighthouse shape underneath)
                      and female (beehive shape underneath) crab.
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There are forest schools around the world but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an ocean school?  Imagine spending everyday at the beach exploring, creating and learning.
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We didn't find my favourite snail, moon snail, but we did find a couple of beautiful
                                        orange sea snails.