Turtles & Tortoises

DISCUSS & LEARN:

*Differences in a turtle and a tortoise.

*What do turtles and tortoises eat?

*Where do turtles and tortoises live?

*How old can turtles and tortoises get?

ACTIVITIES:

*Act out the tortoise and the hare. Make ears and a shell.

*Play-dough turtles: have large laminated pictures of the ocean, lake, and desert for habitat place-mats. The children can make turtles with the play-dough.

MAKE:

*Baby Turtle Story: find pictures to match this story that I made and make it into a binder story...

"There was an egg in the sand of a beautiful beach. When the egg hatched, out came a baby turtle.

"Then all of the little baby turtles waddled out to sea.

"But! On their way to the water, big birds and crabs attacked the baby turtles, because the birds and crabs were hungry.

"Most of the baby turtles were able to make it safely to the ocean. (sigh of relief)

"Once the baby turtles got into the water they swam away from the birds and crabs.

"The swam around the water looking for small fish, shrimp and crabs to eat, because they are carnivores."

*Paper bowl turtle: paint a paper bowl green. If you want draw lines on the shell or glue on buttons. Add a head, goggly eyes, legs and a tail. You can use pipe cleaner, popsicle sticks, etc.

*Flower pot turtle: paint a small/cheap flower pot and 5 small rocks (head and legs) green. Decorate how you would like: use paint, glitter, markers, pom-poms, buttons, crayons, construction paper, foam pieces, stickers, ribbon, etc. Go here to get more ideas/instructions.

*Turtle maracas: fill one paper/plastic plate with beans or rice. Glue another plate on top with hot glue (rims of plates will be glued together). Add construction paper shapes (head, legs, tail & circles for the shells) to the maraca.

BOOKS:

Franklin books by Paulette Bourgeois

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

One Tiny Turtle: Read and Wonder by Nicole Davies

Turtle Splash!: Countdown by the Pond by Cathryn Falwell

The Tortoise and the Hare by Betty Miles

How the Turtle Got Its Shell by Justine and Ron Fontes

Tortoise Brings the Mail by Dee Lillegard

SONGS:

TINY TIM

I Have a tiny turtle, his Name is Tiny Tim.

I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water.

He ate up all the soap.

Then my little turtle got a bubble in his throat.

Bubble, bubble, bubble

Bubble, bubble, bubble

Bubble, bubble, bubble

Bubble, bubble, BURP

LITTLE TURTLE

There was a little turtle (make a small circle with your hands)

He lived in a box, (make a box with both hands)

He swam in a puddle, (wiggle hands)

He climbed on the rocks. (climb fingers of one hand up over the other)

He snapped at a mosquito, (clap hands)

He snapped at a flea, (clap hands)

He snapped at a minnow, (clap hands)

He snapped at me. (point to yourself)

He caught the mosquito, (mimic catching a bug)

He caught the flea (same action)

He caught the minnow, (same action)

But he didn't catch me! (point to yourself)

I AM A TURTLE

(by me: Erica)

I am a turtle; I live by the sea

I eat meat don't you see

They call me a herbivore

Yes sir e

I am a carnivore in the sea

I am a turtle; I live in a lake

I eat plants for goodness sake.

They call me a herbivore

Cause i don't eat cake

I am a herbivore in the lake

I am a turtle; I live in the desert

I eat plants and meat from the land

They call me an omnivore

That's where I stand

I am an omnivore in the desert sand

RECIPES:

*Turtle Shells: you will need half a green apple, a large green grape, peanut butter, raisins and other foods to make your turtle. Make a head, eyes, legs and a tail.