9. Rockpooling - Christina Sinclair: Salty Sam's Fun Blog for Children

April 17th, 2015

Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children

Post Number 9

Rockpooling

Hello Everyone

Last weekend, l took my nephews, Bill and Bob, rockpooling. Have you ever been rockpooling?

lt is best to take an adult with you. l love taking my nephews on adventures and rockpooling is something you can do at any time of the year as long as the weather is quite nice.

You have to look in rock pools when the tide has gone out. lt is a good idea to take with you a bucket, a little shrimping net or a large tea strainer and a book telling you all about the things you see in rock pools so that you will know what you are looking at.

There are a few things for you to remember when you go rockpooling.

lf you want to put little creatures in your bucket to have a closer look at them, first fill it with water from the sea not from the rock pool because this water has got more oxygen in it.

lf you want to take anything from a pool, take it with a net not your fingers, because there are lots of things that bite or pinch or sting in rock pools!

Don’t leave creatures in your bucket for too long; never more than an hour and never leave the bucket in hot sun if it is a warm day. lf the little fish are coming to the surface, it means they need more oxygen than they have in the water, so put them back quickly – and never take them home with you!

Also, if you lift up rocks to see what is underneath them, put them back again, and don’t pull any seaweed off the rocks either because it can take years to grow back.

Look after yourself as well. Always wear stout shoes, rocks can be sharp and slippery, especially when they are wet. Don’t walk on rocks that are covered with green plants that look like moss, they are really, really slippery.

After you have been picking up things on the beach, wash your hands before eating your sandwiches or ice cream.

Remember to take all of your things home with you so that you don’t leave any litter, and most important of all, you must be careful not to be cut off by the tide!

There is a lavender bag on my website with a picture of a little fish in a rock pool embroidered on it. You can make a bag with your own design if you like. Just draw a simple picture on a piece of light-coloured fabric in soft pencil. Put the fabric in an embroidery frame and sew over the lines in backstitch with different coloured embroidery threads. Then cut the fabric to size and make into a bag. Easy!

Have you ever been rockpooling?

Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

l’ll speak to you soon.

Love and kisses

Salty Sam

www.christina-sinclair.com

Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week

Bill: Why did the sea roar?

Bob: l don’t know. Why did the sea roar?

Bill: Because it had crabs scratching its bottom!

Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.

Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com

Picture Gallery

Rock pools

Sea anemone

Shrimps

Sea anemones can be beautiful colours

Common starfish – found around the shores of Britain

Ochre starfish

Starfish move along the sea floor

Starfish come in different shapes and sizes

Red sea urchin

Crabs can be hiding in the corners of a rock pool

Rock pools are found all over the world –

this armoured shrimp is to be found in West Africa and South America

desk THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK

coffee

So this week I took Bill and Bob rockpooling. It is something you can do at any time of the year as long as the weather isn’t too bad.

The boys thought they would play a trick on me and hid behind some rocks pretending that they had disappeared as if by magic.

However, they forgot that their shrimping net was sticking up from behind the rocks and it looked like a flag telling me where they were!

You’ll have to try harder than that to fool an old sea dog boys!

Another good place to see wildlife, especially in the winter, is in harbours.

In the winter weather, sea birds and larger mammals like seals often like to congregate in the Rocky Bay Harbour where the sea is much calmer. They are sheltered from the winds and high waves and so it is much easier for them to have a peaceful rest there.

Sometimes you may even see some dolphins if you are very lucky.

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Quick Quiz

What do the following sentences mean?

He is a big fish in a small pond.
She is like a fish in troubled waters.
He felt like a fish out of water.
This is a pretty kettle of fish!
He’s a queer fish.
There are plenty more fish in the sea.
Something smells fishy!
lt’s a red herring.

BLOW MY FOGHORN!!!

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lt’s the Weekend!

HOW TO MAKE A TOY STARFlSH

If you go rockpooling, you might see a star fish. If you would like to make a toy starfish, there is a pattern that you can download from

www.christina-sinclair.com

ANOTHER IDEA

You can adapt this starfish pattern to make little stars to decorate your Christmas tree.

(If you want to adjust any pattern in size, it can be done on a photocopier.)

However, remember that if you want to use felt then you will be sewing with wrong sides together and there is no need for a turned seam – and you need to remember to incorporate a little loop of cord or thin ribbon to hang it up by as well as you sew.

You can also decorate your star with sequins if you like, before you sew the pieces together, to make it more sparkly.

Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use or for use in classrooms only.

It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.

Use of all of the toys and projects on this blog is at your own risk.

©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015

Quick Quiz Answers

He is an important person, but in a small place.
She is doing well by taking advantage of a bad situation.
He felt uncomfortable because he didn’t feel as though he belonged with that group of people or in that situation.
A bad situation when things have gone wrong.
He has strange habits or a strange way of doing things.
There will be other opportunities after this recent loss.
Something seems suspicious.
lt’s a false clue. What seems like evidence is actually not and, therefore, misleading.