Wildlife Wednesday - Exploring the Everglades

I participate each Wednesday with Kathy Balman @Kathy's Cluttered Mind and Master Books at Creation Conversations to bring you Wildlife Wednesday. We share our adventures in nature and information about encounters with God's beautiful creation. 

This week I'm sharing our adventures in the Everglades with Marcy and Ben @BenandMe  - Please hop on (over here) and read all about the American Alligator and find links to resources with more information. See our pictures of these amazing creatures in the wild. 

Link up your own wildlife and nature posts and be Pinned to the Master Books Wildlife Wednesday pinboard and shared around the web. Please provide a link back to this post in order to spread the word! 

Grab the button below or use a text link: 

Wildlife Wednesday - The Gopher Tortoise

Did you know the gopher tortoise can live to be over 100 years old; or that they dig burrows which house some 300 different species of animal? 

The burrow of the gopher tortoise has been recorded to be 50 feet long! The average size is between 15 - 30 feet long at about 6 feet deep. 

God created these special "landlords" of the wild for a special purpose, just as He did every living creature. 

Come learn more about these amazing animals on Creation Conversations - Wildlife Wednesday   group and download free printable coloring pages of the gopher tortoise and it's amazing burrow. 

Creation Conversations provides free information, valuable to any family and homeschool about all God's Creation. There are free resources available as well as special giveaways each month. 

 I'm joining Kathy Balman of Kathy's Cluttered Mind  and Master Books/ Creation Conversations   to provide you with this Creation information for your family and your homeschool each week. Join the free Wildlife Wednesday group to learn more about sharing God's creation with your family. 

Link up your nature and wildlife posts below and we will pin them to the

 Wildlife Wednesday group Pinterest board. 

Tarpon Fish of Boca Grande, Florida - Wildlife Wednesday

Boca Grande, FL has been coined “The Tarpon Capital of the World” because people travel from all over come to fish for the mighty silver king. Tarpon are not primarily known as a food fish, because they are extremely bony.  They are a terrific sport fish, a strong, fighting fish that jumps and puts on a terrific show for the anglers who fish for them.  

They are known to develop habits of coming in to docks where they are fed regularly.  In Islamorada, FL there is a school of 50 – 100 tarpon that come in to be fed each day. It’s an impressive sight, as they roll along the surface of the water, splashing, sparkling, and coming up for air. 

Scientific   Classification  -	Tarpon
Kingdom :	Animalia
Phylum :	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Elopiformes
Family :	Megalopidae
Genus :	Megalops

 Learn more about this fascinating creature God made on Wildlife Wednesday

 at Creation Conversations. 

 You'll find loads of information on Creation science - Free wildlife posts, and freebies. 

Link up your favorite nature and wildlife posts with us so we can pin them to the group Pinterest board and share the information with other homeschool families. Please grab a button for Wildlife Wednesday to help spread the word of Creation Conversations group from New Leaf Publishing and  Master Books: 

Ultimate Homeschool - Creation Expo - Giveaway

Special Announcement . . . 

I'll be speaking on the topic of Creation Adventures  - instilling a love of learning in your children by getting them out to investigate His masterpiece - up close and personal!

I'll be sharing how you can: 

• use nature to inspire an interest in learning 
• use the bible as the foundation for teaching science in your homeschool 
• help your children learn to think for themselves and look for truth in science
• get out and explore Creation with the family, even if you haven't previously considered       yourself to be an "outdoorsy" person 
• help your children recognize the fingerprints of the designer by exploring His masterpiece

Hear from homeschool and creation experts: 

  Felice Gerwitz of Media Angels           Tom DeRosa of Creation Studies Institute

  Kim Jones of The Nature Tour

Sherri Seligson - Apologia                          Pastor Mike Curtis - PowerlineCC.com

 Lorrie Flem                                                     Dr. Jay Wile - Dr.JayWile.com  

Eric Hovind - CreationToday.Org,                   Meredith Curtis - MeredithCurtis.com

Hear from these great speakers on the latest in Creation news, homeschool methodology, 

godly womanhood, and much more! Be encouraged, be renewed, and put God first in your 

home. The Creation Expo can help breathe new life into your homeschool studies!

The Ultimate Homeschool and Creation Expo from Media Angels is the homeschool communities premier Christian online convention! 

Enter to win one of 5 tickets below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wildlife Wednesday - Magnificent Frigate - an Epic Evolutionary Failure

The Magnificent Frigate is a grade A specimen of a bird, but an absolute FAIL for the evolutionary process. 

We got up close and personal with the Magnificent Frigate Bird  a.k.a. "Man 'O War" back in September. These birds only come in to roost during mating season and in cases of really big storms. The one in the bottom left corner is a male. You can just make out the red on his throat.  There are so many interesting facts about the frigate.

  

The wingspan of the Frigate is a massive 6 - 8 feet long! They swoop down from the air and grab food without ever getting their wings wet. We were interested to learn more about these beautiful animals, and so, I created a unit study for us to use. 

See the Freebies at the end to download your own free unit study - we used various maps for each age, including the Atlas,  a sticker world map, and a puzzle world map - all to locate the oceans where you will find Frigatebirds!

Genesis 1: 20

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

. . . And boy does the Frigate bird ever fly above the earth, as a matter of fact, they almost never stop flying. Night and day they  glide, swoop, and fly across the waters of the ocean. 

        Go here to read the rest of the story and to 

        find out why the Frigate is an evolutionary failure 

Join Creation Conversations - Wildlife Wednesday today and download your own 

FREE Frigate Bird unit study. 

You can also enter here to win a copy of this months giveaway:

 Marvels of Creation - Sensational Sea Creatures 

Visit the Wildlife Wednesday Pinterest board here

Feel free to enter your own nature/ wildlife posts in our ongoing link up below: 

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Our homeschool week - Manger, Mantis and ancient Man

In my life this week…

The world's ugliest tree was rescued from certain death- 

I was told by my husband that this tree could not be repaired

 - so I became the queen of duct tape (determined is what I call it

 - Mark says stubborn)   

 po-tAe-do / po- ta-do 

I win. I mean - I managed to salvage it! 

In our homeschool this week…

Clockwise beginning in top right corner - Studying animals who defy evolution, 

Swimming Creatures from Apologia, Print and cursive bible verse copywork, 

Advent study - reading God's word. 

See our Wildlife Wednesday posts and join the group for free information, monthly prizes, 

and much more. Link up your nature posts old and new and they will be added to the 

Master Books - Wildlife Wednesday pinterest board! (get info here) 

M is for Mantis who prays - read that here    

M is for Manger - see picture above and free Silent Night printable below 

M is for Man - the ancient man and his intelligence 

M is for Miry Clay - Ps 40:2  - You brought me out of the pit of destruction, out of the

                                  miry clay,  you put my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm. 

          

              *although it may not seem like a Christmas verse - we are backing up to the reason

               He was born in the first place - He came so that we might live - He came to cleanse

               us and set our feet upon the rock. 

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

  

Adapt your homeschool to fit your needs. I am reading the Genius of Ancient Man aloud and although it is a bit advanced for my younger ones - they are understanding much of it because we have added this project pictured above. While I read - they are sketching and painting examples we discussed from the books historical timeline such as the tower of Babel, Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, and more - all examples of ancient cultures religions, organized government and architecture - ancient man's intelligence. They may not understand every word I read - but they understand the basics, will remember this project, and we are laying a foundation of truth in their lives. It's a wonderful resource! 

I am careful to teach them that many of the cultures had pagan roots and rituals - I have the 

ability to pic and choose how much of that I share with my children. The important thing is for 

them to understand why we choose to believe in Creation and that the bible is our ultimate 

go-to, the foundation of our faith. 

My favorite thing this week was…

Showing my husband the tree of course! (it's important to find everyday ways to play with your spouse - a little friendly competition is fun for us) 

The moments pictured in our weekly wrap-ups are many of my favorite moments - finding joy
in the everyday 

We're cooking…

Florida Snowman Cookies  recipe on link for our Kids in the Kitchen post 

I’m grateful for…

*Our ladies bible study group on Monday nights (IRL) and the volunteers who take care of the kiddos and teach them about Jesus during that time -  *Resources for our homeschool 

*The REAL gift of the season - *Friends who support and love -* husband who puts his family 

first and is a godly example for our boys - *wonderful homeschool companies such as Apologia, Master Books, and GeoMatters who are generous and supportive in the homeschool community - *grateful for reading improvement in little ones 

We're reading …

 exploring and learning about the intelligence of ancient man and our Creator

Also reading Swimming Creatures from Apologia for science (see whale pic above) 

And Geography through Art from Geo Matters 

Freebies …

                                     

                                                 

                       

Free bible study plans and reading plans Free copywork for Silent Night

includes cursive

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