Polliwog Hunting

During Spring Break we went polliwog hunting with Aaron and Nancy. I used to take my kids every year, but there were a couple of years in a row that between circumstances and the weather we couldn't find any or didn't go. I like catching polliwogs. I used to do it all the time growing up. It is so interesting watching them get bigger and bigger and then grow legs and then become full fledged frogs. And when they do turn to frogs they aren't very big; only about as big as your pinkie fingernail.

The kids were so excited to go that they could hardly wait for me to finish cleaning Grandpa's house. When we got to the creek, Nancy had hopes that Aaron would be content to stay dry and not get dirty.

You can see how well that worked =).

Aaron and Rainer did their best at catching polliwogs, but they mostly filled up their bucket with dirt and water. But they were so happy doing what the big kids were doing. Luckily, polliwogs like to stay where the water is calm along the edges and where it is nice and shallow. A few times Aaron thought he would go into deeper water, but after a few falls he decided that wasn't a very good idea.
We stayed there for about two hours trying to find the little polliwogs. Some of them were so teeny tiny that we had to look twice to make sure that they weren't something else. Mason wanted to make sure that we caught enough so that he could take some to school. He said they would go perfect for what they were learning in science. His teacher now was also his teacher in first grade and in first grade he took some in for his class to watch turn into frogs. His teacher loved it, so we figured she would want some again. I also got some for Sheila and her husband. I knew that her kindergartners would love them and that her husband's middle school kids would be interested in watching them grow too. And of course I made sure that we had some so that we could watch them grow too. Rainer calls them the seamonkeys and loves to "take care" of them. He once informed me that he had just fed them. I looked in the bowl and saw 3 jelly beans on the bottom waiting for the polliwogs to eat them. I didn't think the polliwogs would appreciate having sugar water, so I gave them some fresh water instead.
When we were wrapping and getting ready to go home, Amanda decided to be a good citizen and leave the creek a little cleaner than how we found it. She went right into the middle of the stream and even went a little down stream looking for trash or debris that she could throw away. She felt so good doing her part. Mason spent the last few moments there seeing how daring he could be. He was quite proud of himself that he crossed the stream and made it to the other side...twice.

Unfortunately, I did not plan very well and didn't bring a change of clothes for any of my kids (Nancy had planned ahead and had 5 pairs of jeans that Aaron could change into). So, Rainer rode home in his shirt and underwear (his shorts were way too wet). Luckily, Nancy also had some towels in her car, so Mason and Amanda sat on those so that the car's seats wouldn't get wet.

We had a really great afternoon and everyone had so much fun. I hope my kids will help remind me to continue to do this in years to come.