Learning about Ponds

The first unit in Jacob's studies so far this year is a pond theme. And in science Micah is learning about observing. I saw on the weather report that rain is forcasted for the rest of the week so I thought we should take a field trip.

There are two ponds in our area that I know of. The first one is at Jennings Memorial Park. We observed it for afar then got close.

The kids filled up jars with water from the pond and examined them for life. In the pond they saw frogs, snails, dragonflies and a few fish. There was a ton of algae and plants only on the edges. They sketched drawings of the pond and then we went to pond #2.

Unfortunately the battery in my camera died so no pictures from this pond. It is just a city park by our house. We saw tons of cool things: a blue heron, butterflies, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and pacific tree frogs. The pond had plants growing in it and around it and no algae. We also saw cattails.

But I think the highlight for the kids was that they caught 3 more frogs to join Yoda in our aquarium at home. They each caught one, yes, even Naomi. She was off looking at things and came running over and said she caught a frog. We didn't really believe her because they are hard to catch but sure enough she had one in her hands. She was so proud of herself and the boys were pretty impressed.

We sketched this pond too and then discussed the similarities and differences. It was a great afternoon!