Introducing Bill, Ted and the Princesses!

We have a few new friends in the class! First are our new tadpoles, Bill and Ted (they are having a most excellent adventure). This year we have frog tadpoles (2 years ago we had toad tadpoles). They have just emerged from the mud and are ready for their metamorphosis into frogs!

These frogs hatched from their eggs last spring -- then spent last year eating and growing, then hibernated in the mud over the winter. Last weekend I carefully removed them from their pond (hopefully I will return them there in a month or so....). Now they are living in an aquarium in our classroom -- and we can already see their tiny legs beginning to grow. We were a bit worried that they weren't eating -- but today they started to eat! (they eat lettuce which I have boiled then frozen to make it a bit softer and mushier). They are about 3" long.

(I can't seem to get a better picture, sorry!)

Also from the same pond came some huge snails! Their names are Aurora, Ariel and Belle (named after some very popular Disney princesses). I have also seen quite a few small snails on the bottom of the tank -- I'm not sure how they got in there -- perhaps they were attached to a big snail? Or are they really babies? The snails in the pond (in London, Ontario) were up to the size of my fist! Our princesses are about golf ball size. I'm not sure if these snails are native to Canada-- or if someone has dumped their aquarium snails in the pond -- I'm still researching. They are similar to this snail (click here). They do seem to breath the air!


Noah named the water beetle "Love" but we haven't seen her today......

Some of the children pull up chairs and just watch the life in the aquarium...
Here is what they said:
"This is SO cool!"
"Better than tv! "

My only wish is that they ALWAYS believe that their natural curiousity and inquiry is better than tv :)