It only took a couple of minutes of watching this night-time video of baby sea turtles hatching… Crowley fell 
completely in love. And who can blame him? Sea turtles are very special animals. They are also very vulnerable. The movie, A Turtle’s Tail: Sammy’s Adventure, made that point so well, even featuring time spent in a sea turtle hospital. That piqued Crowley’s interest. And so we showed him what I think is the best story ever told about a sea turtle hospital, this one, told by Crowley’s dad!
And so, with special attention, Crowley made his own sea turtle. It is kind of amazing how many uses you can find for a paper plate. I found easy to follow instructions and templates on this website, which provided tons of sea turtle factoids for us to chat about while he carefully painted the turtle’s shell green. I do not expect Crowley to run to his friends and drop the word carapace (shell), but I do think that exposure to different topics, words and experiences is building a powerful foundation in that busy brain.
Nothing explains how dearly Crowley takes things to heart then when he asked to make a picture for the sick sea turtles at the hospital and mail it to them in what he calls, “You know. The black mail… black mail metal thing… what is it called?”
“Mailbox”
“Yes, Mailbox. I want to put it in there with a stamp and everysang.”
And so we did.
He even kissed the letter before posting it.
I mean it just erases all the days frustrations that come with raising a three-year-old. Erased and replaced with more love than I have the capacity to carry!
And so it only makes sense to complete our lesson by adopting a sea turtle. Which you can do for about $25. Check out the Topsail Sea Turtle Hospital site for more info.
This was a great day! And we are going to end it with Crowley’s new favorite book, Freckles and the Great Beach Rescue by Ellen Bryant Lloyd and Carol Schwartz. It is a wonderful story about friendship that takes shape during a crab and puppy’s frantic attempt to rescue baby sea turtles. Perfect!
-Anna