Today, we spent our time at the farm investigating the marshy area of the pond.  We used nets to catch as a variety of living creatures:  a tadpole, several small fish, mosquito larvae, dragon fly larvae, a HUGE beetle (identified as a “toe biter” by Charlotte’s daughter Robin), several waterbugs, crawfish, fly larvae, snails in all shapes and sizes, a variety of marsh plants, and tons of small organisms that are just moving about in the water. 

Another highlight was we were able to  investigate a baby dragonfly that had just hatched.  Because his wings were not dry yet, he let everyone examine him closely without flying away.  What a treat!

Unfortunately, I forgot the WF camera, so I have just a few pictures from my iphone to share.  But, the children really had a marvelous time scooping the water with their nets, sorting through their nets to see what they caught, and then sharing their catch with friends.  Also, this was a great chance for the children to assess how far they could step into the marsh without the water going over the top of their boots.  At some point, each child “filled” their boots with marsh water, but everyone handled the cold water and “dumping” their boots with good humor.

We brought back much of our marsh catch and placed it in the aquarium in the art room.  Ask your child to show you!