It Was GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

 ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rive of the Ancient Mariner

Our young scientists recorded their observations. [Yeah. 15 exclamation points]

Well, we changed the Amphibian class up a bit. I brought my best friend to model "nature nerd" attire and we had a short lesson on bullying (as in ignore them if they call you a "nerd." It's really a complement. All that means is that you are good at something or really love something. We are "nature nerds" and "frog nerds" and proud of it).

Amphibian Watch nature nerd.  He wore this gear and also carried a bucket.

We talked about making observations in the wild, taking notes, photographs, and recordings, and reporting observations. Then we SHARE our observations. Of course we had to practice so there were four mystery boxes.  Almost all of the kids were brave enough to test their sense of touch. [One young lady never tried it. I honor that.] Their notebooks were filled with comments. Each team came to a conclusion about exactly what they observed (wet or dry?/legs?/scales? That kind of thing.).

Tadpoles and salamanders...

...and frog eggs (tapioca) OH MY!

Even a couple of the camp counselors tried to identify the mysteries.

Every camper had a small notebook to jot down observations. The younger kids managed numbers and a few comments. The older campers were serious - some filled a page or more per item (and more than a few exclamation points). They were all amazing.

Some take neater notes than others.

But everyone took notes.*

I wish  I took notes like this - I often cannot read mine later.

This made me laugh. We provided wet-wipes for the kids to clean their hands. One volunteer had trouble with the "easy open" package. Guess which one!

We had frog choruses and frog races. It was sometimes raucous, but almost always fun. It was a game bunch - they participated, asked questions, and answered questions.

The camp staff were game too and the TMN** volunteers, well, there is no way to manage these things without a lot of help. JG, MAM, CM, and DH kept things rolling as we moved from activity to activity.

And we had a special moment midway through the afternoon. This camp is held in a home donated by the Saul family to the community. One of the Saul children arrived with her children. It must be wonderful to see how your family's gift is being used. 

One of the frog races.

One class closed with four frog races. The other ended with a loud frog chorus. We celebrated the frogs!

At least one youngster shared a desire to become a scientist, but I could tell there were several more scientific minds in this group.

And three insisted on thanking me with a quick "thanks" and a hug.


NOTES:

* When we handed out the notebooks the kids asked, "Can we keep these?" I figure that is a good sign... (For all you nature nerds - these are available at Dollar Tree. 3 for $1). The younger group is just learning to write and take notes. The older kids wrote a great deal. One youngster asked if he could have another notebook. "Sure, but don't tell anyone as I don't have enough to go around - again. Put it in your pocket." I'm such a pushover.

**Texas Master Naturalists, Good Water Chapter


FINAL NOTE:

We planned all along to eat at the town cafe. The Texan Cafe and Pie Shop is good. Everything is made from scratch. Some things are pretty unique. We'll go back. [We also ran into our neighbor - BT is one of DH's former commanders who came to visit the owner. We never see him in town, but a 45 minute drive away - there he is.]

Good queso and chips...really more than we could eat with our dinners.

I love these old buildings - my ancestors wandered this old downtown. We had planned to stop at the town cemetery, but decided against it...too hot...we will be back for that too.