Had a fantastic time today at Reid Park Elementary – Henrietta Krumpett and Promising Pages teamed up once again to provide copies of Noah the Boa at Large to the students! We had a great time reading the book, and learning about snakes and why they are important to the ecosystem. We also talked about the importance of reading all summer. We introduced the students to Heston the Python and Etienne the Boa, and they had so many questions! We all had a fantastic time.

Hello Hello,

So glad its Saturday – and what a beautiful day it is. Last night – I was on the internet hunting for cool stories that involved snakes and look what I found…a bunch of Unusual Facts About Snakes.

Did you know “Snake” is an ancient word and comes from the Indo-European basesneg, meaning “to creep”.

1. How long do snakes live? We can’t know for certain, but snakes in zoos have long lives. One boa constrictor has lived 27 years in a zoo, and a South American anaconda is still going strong after 28 years!
2. How big do snakes get? They can be very tiny or very large, depending on the kind. The ground snake is about 5 inches long while a python can grow to be 30 feet in length and weigh 200 pounds.
3. How often does a snake eat? Snakes eat only when they are hungry. This can be once every 3-4 days or the interval may be even longer – weeks or months. Zoo snakes, because they don’t move much, may eat just one or two times a year!
4. Do all snakes lay eggs to reproduce? No, some snakes give birth to tiny living snakes that crawl off and take care of themselves right from the start.
5. What snake is the best mother? No snake mothers her babies the way humans do, but the python mother makes a nest and coils up on her eggs to keep them safe until they hatch.
6. How does a snake keep clean? Its scales are very smooth and fit together so there is no place for dirt to catch on a snakeskin. Also, snakes get brand-new skins every once in a while so they are usually very, very clean.
7. How many kinds of snakes are there? There are about 2,600 different kinds of snakes. Of these, about 400 are poisonous.
8. How many different kinds of snakes live in the U.S.? There are 126 different kinds of snakes in the United States. Only 19 are harmful to people.
9. Why is it true that snakes are good for the world? Snakes are very helpful. The small ones eat harmful bugs and insects. The big ones eat rats, mice, gophers, and animals that destroy crops. Good farmers and gardeners know how helpful most snakes are and are happy to have them around. All snakes except those that threaten people should be kept safe from harm. They are part of the chain of living things – as we are!

The fact that got me is that there are roughly 2,600 different types of snakes – WOW! Thats a whole lot. Hope you enjoyed reading the facts…if I find some more out there i will share them with you. And if you find some – do share.

Happy Saturday! Have fun guys and gals!

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/animals/reptiles/5424.html

Hi my friends,

Happy Saturday! I found one my all-time favorite books The Jungle Book. Have you read it? If you haven’t, hurry…go get a copy. Its great! They have a copy at the library – so you don’t have to buy one.

What’s your favorite book? Oh, another favorite of mine is “Charlotte’s Web” – its an oldie but goodie. It’s a really sweet story. Wilbur is the best!!! Well – Fern, Wilbur and Charlotte are all great. I think you should see the movie right this minute.

Maybe today and tomorrow I will have movie slumber party with all of my friends – we can watch a bunch of really cool animated movies. Gotta go rent the movies…see you again soon. Have fun!

I woke up this morning wondering where the biggest zoo in the world is…I have been to the San Diego zoo – but is that one of the biggest? It was huge when I went. I saw hundreds…no wait thousands of animals. I was so tired by the end of the day!  But it was great fun and I am so very glad I got to go. Have you been to the zoo lately? Where have you been to? I found this thing on the internet listing what the 8 largest zoos in the world are. I guess they list them based on the number of animals and then the actual size of the zoo itself. Take a look for yourself.

http://www.touropia.com/largest-zoos-in-the-world/

Let me know what you think…maybe over Spring break you can go visit one of them and send me some pictures and I will do the same.  Or better yet – if you live in one of those cities maybe you can go this weekend….. wouldn’t that be awesome.

Here is a map of the San Diego Zoo:

My all time favorite part was the Lost Forest.

Gotta go – I have a full day planned. See you guys later!

For those of you who dont know this yet…gardening in the sun is one of my all time favorite things.

I’ve been  planting  fruits, vegetables and flowers for a while now – and its a ton of fun! I thought i would share stuff on how to grow your very own strawberries right at home…hope you are not allergic to them. Strawberries are super easy to grow.

I learned that there are 3 different types of strawberries. One that is year-round, one that is gives strawberries once a year and another that gives strawberries a couple times a year. I wonder if they taste different???

As soon as you are ready to start this project you can visit this website and then will tell you exactly how to do it. Oh, and i want to hear all about it – and send me a few strawberries…just kidding. Just send me a picture!

http://gardening.about.com/od/fruitsberriesnuts/a/Strawberries.htm

I am dreaming of a safari… Let’s do a fun activity! Ok boys and girls -

Let’s look real quick how many elephants do you see?

How many 4-legged stripped ones are there? And what they are they called?

Which animals are bigger?  And what continent was the picture taken in?

Which animals have bigger ears and longer noses? On your dream safari which

Animals do you want to see?

Can’t wait to read your responses – let’s use our imagination!

Happy Saturday!

Howdy friends – I would like to share a topic that is very near and dear to my hear to my heart – Wildlife Conservation.

Thought i would share this gift idea with you – whether a Valentine’s Day gift, Birthday Party favor bags or simply a sweet Just Because Gift. Adopting a species is a very thoughtful gift!

I encourage you to visit the WWF website – the offer tons of information and great pictures of Tigers, Elephants, Bears, Rhinos, Whales, Marine Turtles and Gorillas.

http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions.aspx

Let me know what you think and share your favorite gift idea.

http://www.snakeconservation.org/home/CSC-announcements/februaryiswomenandsnakesmonth

The Center for Snake Conservation has dedicated February to the women who study snakes or educate people about their amazing natural histories. Each day, we will briefly highlight one woman, what she is doing for snake conservation, and how you can help her achieve her goals for snake conservation.

Do you know of an extraordinary woman who is making huge strides in snake conservation? If so, please nominate her to become one of our daily features so we can help her achieve her goals by spreading the word about her research, educational program, or conservation effort. Email your nomination along with a photo of them in action toinfo@snakeconservation.org for consideration.

If you have a young son, grandson, nephew or cousin named Noah, then Noah the Boa at Large makes the perfect, personalized gift!  Your Noah will love the vibrant illustrations and have lots of fun reading about an adorable boa with the same name.  Get him his very own copy today and start enjoying story time!

A very happy new year!  We are about to launch our site and will start to blog here soon.

For now, lets enjoy 2013!