The other day we took some time out to investigate some pond mud...
Dylan helped gather the necessary tools... a strainer and turkey baster...
He was more than happy to have these out to play...We used the baster to collect up come of the pond mud that we had collected for the bottom of our tadpole habitat and strain it. The idea is that any little creatures that are living in the mud will be strained out and can be then placed into some clean pond water for observation...
We used a white bowl so it would be easier to observe what we found...
Of course we knew the tadpoles were in there and there was a dragonfly nymph that was collected from the same pond... so we did not strain those... Fionna simply collected them up for a complete picture of the pond... We did find some worms... you can see them in this picture right in the finger shadow
And discovered that our tadpole habitat had been harboring a mayfly nymph... We used the Audubon Guide to Insects and Spiders to identify this little nymph...
And we found the worms and information about the dragonfly nymph... and damselfly nymph.... in a book from the library. Wetlands by Pamela Hickman... This is a great book. She has written quite a few great books for kids to learn more about nature.
We used a white bowl so it would be easier to observe what we found...
Of course we knew the tadpoles were in there and there was a dragonfly nymph that was collected from the same pond... so we did not strain those... Fionna simply collected them up for a complete picture of the pond... We did find some worms... you can see them in this picture right in the finger shadow
And discovered that our tadpole habitat had been harboring a mayfly nymph... We used the Audubon Guide to Insects and Spiders to identify this little nymph...
And we found the worms and information about the dragonfly nymph... and damselfly nymph.... in a book from the library. Wetlands by Pamela Hickman... This is a great book. She has written quite a few great books for kids to learn more about nature. I am thrilled to be contributing to The Magnifying Glass and wrote my first post about dragonfly and damselfly nymphs... You can read it here if you are interested in learning more. There are also many more great posts by other mothers who are interested in nurturing a love of nature in their little ones. It is great to be a part of such a wonderful group of mothers.
After all of this observation there was time a good ole' laundry line run...
He is thrilled with the laundry line... a first for us. I am exicted about it too!
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6 comments:
Thanks for the link to The Magnifying Glass...I always love a nature study blog! :)
Wish we had some pond life to discover around here! Looks like a lot of fun. Congrats on working with the Magnifying Glass ... I'm so glad to have found such a great group of nature & outdoor loving mamas!
gThe Magnifying Glass is so lucky to have you as a contributor! Your nature studies are detailed and varied and interesting :0)
Gosh, when did Dylan get to be such a big boy? Pond life rocks!!!
You are welcome Laura... There is a lot of fun stuff to explore at The Magnifying Glass!
Debi... Thanks! It has been fun to find other Mama's to share with!
Yes, the pond scene in LA is a bit lacking. I was just talking to FIonna about the two little ponds that my in-laws had created out at their ranch in Ventura. She so enjoyed those when we were there.
Thanks Tara... You are sweet!
Do you guys get dragonflies or damselflies at your pond?
As far as Dylan goes.... I know! Crazy watching him become a big boy!
We are seriously on the hunt for nymph thanks to your post!
Gwynneth... good luck on your search. They are very interesting!
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