It's loggerhead sea turtle nesting season here in Wilmington. If you are visiting one of our beautiful beaches, you will likely come upon a nest. Local volunteers have done their best to mark them so you and the turtle eggs won't get hurt.
Here are four things to teach your kids about loggerhead sea turtles-
- The common name is Loggerhead because their heads are so large! Like a log!
- Adult loggerheads weigh 155-375 lbs.
- They have powerful jaws that allow them to maintain their diet of shellfish that live on the bottom of the ocean. They also like crabs, clams and mussels.
- Every 2-4 years they lay their nests with 3-5 nest per season. Each nest has about 120 eggs. The eggs take 60 days to hatch.
Now, here is the tricky part. When the little turtles hatch at night, they must stay focused on the light of the moon's reflection on the ocean and swim towards the water to stay alive or else they will die. But as the beach is more populated and active during the summer, there are lots of lights. Unfortunately, those other lights, even though pretty, are distracting and can throw the little turtles off course to their death.
Local volunteers know this and have taken it upon themselves to stay with the nests during the night to make sure when those little ones hatch, they stay focused and swim towards the light, the correct light.
As Christian parents, this scenario is a good reminder to us that just like the sea turtle volunteers, we need to stay watchful and vigilant because our little ones need us to make sure they are getting steered in the right direction. We need to help them stay focused so they can follow the direction of the correct light-God's light. Just like the pretty beach lights, there are lots of distractions to throw them off course. God wants you to keep pointing them to the living water of His word.
Here are four things you can do to point them to God's light.
- Go to church as a family. Be their role model every week.
- Have a morning devotion with your kids at the breakfast table.
- Say prayers together as a family. Breakfast, dinner and bedtime is a good start.
- Steer them in the direction of good quality friends who are also following God's light. It is easier to swim with like minded friends.
- Mentor them, listen to them and stay watchful.
Lastly, I started this blog post to help you do a little summer beach craft with your kids. God made the animals of the sea (including awesome loggerhead sea turtles) on the 5th day. Need a reminder of what God made the other days of the week. Open up your Bible and check out Genesis 1:1-2:3.
This is fun, your kids will love it and you can start to share some of God's light with them while you are painting.
You will need some green paint, ( I also had some white, blue and yellow) a glass of water to clean your brushes, sturdy paper, a plate to mix your paint, a paper towel, a pencil, a marker and a can to use as a circle template, scissors and a stapler.
Place the can on your paper. (I used Strathmore Mixed Media paper) and draw around the can to create the turtle body. Freehand his head and flippers as shown.
Paint your turtle!
While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I made a template on a blank sheet to make sure my idea was going to work. :0)
After the paint dries cut your turtle out.
Draw a line to the center of his shell and cut on the line. Overlap the paper and staple in place. (Note, when I did this, his tail gets hidden under his leg).
Aren't they cute! FYI-If you want to make the wave in the background, I used construction paper and a blue pastel.
I hope you and your kids get to enjoy some of God's wonderful creations at the beach this summer.
Smiles,
Wendy