May 23rd - World Turtle Day

“World Turtle Day calls attention to these remarkable animals and the urgent need to protect them in their natural habitats,” says Beth Preiss, director of the exotic pets campaign for The HSUS.

Why did the turtle cross the road?
To get to the Shell station!

If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is it naked or homeless?

What did the turtle wear to keep warm?

A turtle neck.

Many Turtles have recently emerged from winter hibernation and are beginning their search for mates and nesting areas. Funny, just yesterday I was outside watering my flowers when I saw a baby turtle slowly moving through the bushes. I love seeing little turtles, it remind me of my baby sister because she always had a pet turtle growing up. Now that the turtles are emerging, I can’t think of a better time of the year to celebrate them. If you are going out to the lake this weekend, keep your eyes open for these adorable little creatures, but just remember for their safety and yours, look but don’t touch.

Celebrate this day by learning a few facts about turtles:

Turtles are found on every continent except Antarctica.

Turtles have been on earth for more than two-hundred million years.

The box turtle among other species can live for one hundred years or more.

The turtle's shell contains nerve endings so the turtle can feel it when you touch its shell.

A turtle's shell is made up of sixty bones connected together.

Loggerhead turtles can weigh two-hundred to four-hundred pounds and grow to more than three feet.

Ancient turtles were very similar to modern day turtles except they had teeth and could not retract their heads as modern day turtles can do.

Although we tend to clump them all together there are differences between a turtle and tortoise. A turtle spends most of its time in water. Turtles have webbed feet for swimming. A tortoise is a land dweller. Its feet are not webbed. Turtles have flatter backs than tortoises.

Please keep this in mind, when you are thinking about getting a turtle for a pet!

Baby turtles can be natural sources of Salmonella, a group of bacteria that can cause severe illness and death. Salmonella can be found on the outer skin and shell surfaces of the turtles. In addition to the Salmonella risk, getting turtles as pets poses risks to the welfare of the animals and harmful the environment. Countless turtles in the pet trade die from poor shipping methods and inadequate care. If they survive, they can live for decades. People may release them outdoors where they can harm native species.

All seriousness aside, lets have fun and celebrate turtles

Turtle Hopscotch

What you need:
Sidewalk Chalk

What you do:
Draw a Turtle on the cement making the turtle body about 36" wide. Then draw the Head and a tail to extend out 4 feet. Feet and tail are safe areas.

Draw a circle in the middle, which will be referred to as HOME. Now, make 10 spaces in the outside shell, with #1 starting next to the head.

To Start, the first player stands on the Turtle Head. The player must hop, on one foot, landing in each space (from 1 to 10) and then can land on Home space with two feet. The player now hops back from 10 to 1 and onto the Turtle head to exit the game.

If the player hops all the way without stepping on a line, then that player get to claim a space and write their name in that space. No other player can land on that space for the rest of the game.

Successive players can also use the Turtle legs and tail as safe spaces and stepping on those lines does not count.

Players continue taking turns, skipping over the claimed spaces. Play continues until no one is able to reach Home.
Whoever earns the most spaces is the Winner.


A Couple Cute Turtle Songs (with actions)

I got a little turtle, his name is Tiny Tim,
I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim (make a swimming noise and movement)
He drank up all the water (move your hands towards your mouth and make a "gulp" sound)
He ate up all the soap (make a munching noise with the eating of the soap)
Then my little turtle got a bubble in his throat (tap under your chin gently when you say that line)


1 little 2 little 3 little turtles
4 little 5 little 6 little turtles
7 little 8 little 9 little turtles (show the fingers as you go along)
10 little turtles in the pond (then clap 3 times)


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)


Sweet and Simple Turtle Craft

What you need:
Small White Paper Bowls
Cereal Box Cardboard
Glue
Scissors
Markers or Paint (preferably green and black)

What to do:
Use scissors to cut the turtle's legs, head and tail from a cereal box!). Turn the bowl upside down and glue them to the underside of the rim. Use the markers or paints to decorate the turtle