Crafts: Sea Turtles

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Since it is summertime, why don't we dive under the water and create a fun sea turtle craft? This craft does not require a lot of materials and provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about these beautiful creatures.

Sea Turtle Facts 

Sea turtles, also known as marine turtles, are migratory species that live primarily in the ocean or sea. The females will come to land to lay eggs (most often returning to the same beach where they hatched), but they spend the majority of their time in the ocean. There are seven species of sea turtles which include the

• Loggerhead
• Green
• Hawksbill 
• Leatherback
• Kemp's Ridley
• Olive Ridley 
• Flatback

Turtles are part of the Reptile Class. They are the only reptiles with shells! Their shell is actually part of their body, and – unlike scenes depicted in cartoons – they can not remove their shells. The carapace (upper part of the shell) is attached to its backbone and ribs.

The carapace is covered in scales, also known as scutes. The scutes are made up of the same thing that fingernails are – keratin. The scutes are generally square-shaped and will grow with the turtle. Some species shed the scutes, while others just have ones that grow larger as they grow.

Materials 

• Coffee Filter
• Brown or green construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue or tape 
• Pencil 
• Brown or green markers 

Steps 

1. Gather all of your materials. 

2. Draw or trace the head, tail, and flippers for your sea turtle. 

3. After cutting out the head, tail, and flippers, make sure they are the right size for your turtle shell. 

4. Draw the scales or scutes for your turtle shell on the coffee filter. (Place a piece of scrap paper under your coffee filter as the markers will bleed through the coffee filter.) 

5. After your child has drawn the scutes/scales on the coffee filter, attach the head, tail, and flippers to your sea turtle shell. 

6. After the project is completed, you can hang it up in the window. 

Learn More About Sea Turtles and Other Ocean Creatures 

For children who are in middle school to high school, SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers Animal Science with an entire lesson on turtles and tortoises. Learn about the differences between turtles and tortoises, their physiological makeup, and how to build a habitat for a local one. 

For younger children in later elementary school, you can study turtles in Wildlife Adventures. Over 15 weeks, children will study sea turtles, bald eagles, pelicans, and more as they learn new vocabulary, study geography, and read Bible passages. 

If you are looking for your homeschool curriculum for next year, check out SchoolhouseTeachers.com! There are over 400 courses for your entire family – preschool to high school and courses for parents, too. Your membership also includes the Schoolhouse SmartMama Planner, a monthly menu, virtual events, and access to many videos for your family. 

Journaling Through the Bible: Sand of the Sea

"For You said, 'I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'" 

Genesis 32:12 NKJV

When we think of sand, what images come to mind? Do you think of the beach? Time? Sand traveling through an hour glass?

When I read this passage, I thought about the idea that there will be many humans that will help populate our earth. People with different opinions who share their joy and sadness, their creativity, and their ideas with each other. Future friends and loved ones.

There is so much sand on our planet. As a child you may have asked, how many grains of sand are on the beach (or the earth)?  In the Bible, God says that the sand is too numerous to be counted or numbered. Well, apparently there are "7.5 x 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains" according to a group of researchers at the University of Hawaii and science writer David Blatner. 

Like many others, the idea of counting sand makes me thinking of stars. When I hear about the multitude of sand or of descendants, I think of the multitude of stars in the sky.  This phrase always reminds me of one of my favorite songs from Les Miserables. I always felt like the song was Javert's prayer, pleading to God, for assistance in capturing Jean Valjean, who is merely a thief, a fugitive in Javert's eyes.

I also am reminded of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, A Dream Within a Dream.

I feel very fortunate that everything we see is not merely "a dream within a dream." We are destined for a better place after this sand-covered earth. So even though we 'weep,' face injustices (like Joseph did), and our descendants may not be as numerous as those of Jacob, we will find peace in Heaven.