Kids Can Catch Fish in a Bottle

Looking For Minnows Is Fun! 

Young children often want to net tiny fish for pets. Since minnows are very fast and don’t like to get caught, it is probably all right to give children a small net to puddle around and chase these terrified fish. They can put it in a container of lake water with sea weed for a short time.

  Then it is time to prepare for release and have the talk about minnows needing to go back in the water to grow bigger. Fresh water minnows eat insects, such as mosquitoes and flies, as well as algae and pieces of dead plant and animal matter.

Creating Minnow Fun

 Children can make their own minnow habitat.  You’ll need a clean plastic bottle two or more liters with the labels removed, small balloons, a few small rocks, sand, something to look like weeds like a piece of plastic flower, and permanent marker.

  Discuss with your children what fresh water fish or ocean mammals like white beluga whales need to survive: clean water, and food.

Children can search for a few clean pebbles and place them at the bottom of the bottle and add some sand. Slowly fill the plastic bottle with tap water about two thirds full and let the sand settle.

Fish or Whales?

Fish or Whales??

 Decide what kind of fish or whales you are going to add to your water habitat. Balloons come in packages with a variety of different shapes and colors. Long narrow ones are good for whales. More circular ones are better for colorful puffy gold fish.

Talk about their characteristics. Children can add small scales and different colors. Hold off on adding eyes and mouth. Place some water into a small balloon through a funnel if you have one. The water should be heavy enough to sink the fish.  Then blow air into the balloon until it looks like a fish after you tie the end. Place the fish in its new habitat to find out which part of the balloon will be the top so you can correctly draw the eyes and mouth with a permanent marker. At least at the beginning the fish should be under water and not be belly up.  After a few months the fish may change positions as the air or water may seep out.

   

Take a Break and Look Around You

Now you can take a break with a book about fish and a few fish crackers.  Young children will have a pet fish to keep for a long time and another fun summer lake memory. Among many excellent books are ”Beluga Whales” by Victoria Blakemore and “About Fish by Cathryn Sill. 

For more activities see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/learning through the seasons live and podcasts.

 Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Children Will Love a Snorkel Bucket

Snorkeling - Open Another World for Children

Snorkeling opens up a whole new world of exploration for children. The gear is relatively inexpensive and takes a little practice.  Younger children can feel left out,but there is a way for them to see what is happening under water without even getting their face wet. They will feel included in the family fun until they are skilled enough to put on the gear.

Snorkel Bucket

  To help young children who have good enough balance to walk in water you can create a snorkel bucket and guide them around with a hand on their shoulder to steady them as they look down. You will need an empty small plastic pail or large plastic ice cream container, a sharp knife, a couple of large rubber bands knotted in a circle to fit tightly around the circumference of the pail, plastic wrap, and 

Using a Snorkel Bucket to Start

duct tape.

  Cut out the bottom of the pail making the hole slightly smaller than the bottom to add stability to the pail. Cover the hole and the entire side with a large piece of plastic wrap.  Keep the plastic wrap in place by carefully and slowly sliding the rubber bands ¾ of the way up the side of the pail.  This procedure works best with two people.

  Once the bucket is assembled practice using the bucket in very shallow water.  Show children how to gently push the snorkel bucket into the water without letting any water get inside.  The pressure of the water will cause the plastic to become a convex lens similar to a magnifying class so objects will look larger than they really are. The bucket is quite durable but keep extra supplies around to maintain it.

Exploring

  Young children enjoy looking at their feet and footprints in the sand. They might find the tracks of clams, snails, and birds like herons that have hunted in the night. The children might be a bit unsteady because they are looking down.

  Children also like to find toys and 

Balance and Explore the Underwater Delights!

other planted objects in the water. Museums have beautiful rocks and fool’s gold that children can collect, reuse, and won’t harm the environment if lost in the water. To help the little explorer you can cordon off a small area where you have planted a few objects to find. 

  As children learn to slowly explore the water they can team up with someone with a small net and catch snails, clams, a minnow, water bug, live dragon fly nymphs (harmless if not handled) or nymph skeletons which only look frightening. If children are afraid, give the creatures names like Sammy snail or point out why dragon flies are friends. These are old useful maneuvers.

  For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Kids Love Learning Summer Symmetry

Leaves, flowers, bugs...look for symmetry

Insects and other bugs are all around us in summertime. Most children are fascinated with bugs and what they look like. This is an opportunity to make some funny looking bugs while talking about symmetry which means both sides are built exactly the same. You’ll need several eyedroppers, or straws to us as a pipette, colors of paint, markers, and sheets of paper. To make a pipette straw, dip a drinking straw in a liquid with your finger pressed tightly over the top hole. Take your finger off the top when you wish to empty the straw.

Making Symmetry

  First help your children fold a paper exactly in half. Open the paper and let them use eyedroppers to drop several colors of paint onto the center of the crease. With help, young children can fold the paper over the paint. Now they can rub gently over the paper to blend the colors. Open the paper. Talk about the “blobby” shape that has appeared. Point out that what is on one side of the fold is also on the other side of the fold. Explain that this is symmetry.

  Nature is full of symmetry.  While the paint is drying, look for symmetry in leaves, flowers, bugs, and other objects in your own back yard. You can talk about what makes a bug an insect.  Discuss what an insect does with its antennae, wings and six legs.

  Once the paint is dry, encourage your children to use markers to add the antennae, wings, eyes and legs.  

Insects and Bugs are Everywhere in the Summer!

Together you’ve created a new bug so it needs a new name.  Help your children write the new name under the picture and then hang the picture where everyone can enjoy it!

Study Summer Bugs

 Use a magnifying glass and study some bugs you find. Talk about what makes them the same and different. Together see how many different bugs you can find. Help our children make a list of these bugs. Together discover the scientific name for a person who studies bugs. Visit the library to pick out some interesting books about bugs and enjoy them together. Use the computer and visit the National Geographic site to investigate more about bugs.

  Understanding symmetry helps children look very carefully 

Find Symmetry Everywhere in Nature!

at objects. You can also use the same technique to make more symmetries and use imagination to discover what else 

children see once the paper is unfolded. Children can use markers to add details to the picture. Together draw half a shape on the folded paper and then cut out shapes so that one side is the same as the other side. Talk about the characteristics of each shape. For more summer fun and learning see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com also wnmufm.org Learning Through the Seasons live and pod casts, Facebook, Pinterest, and You Tube.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos