Homeschool Field Trip

Princess and I recently joined our homeschool group for a class called

Happiness is a Horseshoe Crab at the NJ Sea Grant Consortium.

The instructor read a book about horseshoe crabs, passed around some "sheds"

for the kids to look at and some mysterious substance in a bottle that looks like the famous blue horseshoe crab blood! That was a big hit with Princess. He went over a life sized model of a full grown female and took questions as well.

Then it was craft time!

Off we went to the bay side to Seine . The kids all helped carry the above equipment.

Have I ever mentioned how much we LOVE Sandy Hook?

Down to the bay side we went.

The tide was especially high due to a new moon, so parent volunteers were requested

for the seining. I am the one in the Farm Aid hat. ;-)

The gear kept us warm and dry and it was fun. (Special thanks to one of my favorite HS Mom's Michelle O. for taking pics while I waded out into the bay with the net. )

The high tide made it harder to get any good catches, but the kids enjoyed the jellies,

and hermit crabs and such. Putting anything "alive" into a bucket of sea water to be studied.
These were all returned to the ocean before we moved on.

Then we had a beach walk and learned about all the shells and creatures and plants we came across.

Our time ended as the rain began. Nothing beats a great day at the beach!