Tasty Tuesday: Sea Serpents

Sea Serpents???

Yes, yesterday was Sea Serpent Day! Did you ever know there was such a FUN day to celebrate??? We couldn't neglect the mighty sea serpents lurking deep in murky waters. We just had to honor them!

With map in hand and courage in heart, we set sail on our pirate ship couch across the ocean blue living room. The warm sun on our skin, the salty water sprinkling our lips, the wind tickling our faces. The vessel sliced through the rugged waves. The lure of a treasure kept our focus. Suddenly, there was a rumbling deep below and our ship began to rock. A grotesque face emerged from the black-blue waters. We sprung to action as one slimy tentacle - larger than we'd ever seen -  coiled around the ship. Frantically, we began to fire sock cannonballs in hopes of escaping from an eternal water prison. But the monster responded with more force, more fury, more strength. He squeezed tighter and we heard the distinct sounds of wooden planks cracking. With one final resolve, we aimed our last cannonball directly at his heart. BOOM! The sound was almost deafening. We held our breaths. Time seemed to stand still. Then slowly, the tentacles unraveled and the ship was set free. We watched as the creature sank into the abyss. Ho! Our adventure could not be thwarted. On to the treasure!   

Despite the hazards, our exploit consumed only a portion of the day. We still had plenty of time for other fun, sea-serpenty activities.

 We colored frightening pictures.

We read books about sea creatures.

We noticed that while we delved into our first book, a sea serpent stole the rest of the them and carried them off into his lair. We had to carefully and quietly retrieve the books from the sleeping monster.

For lunch, we dined on a luxurious sea serpent meal. (Truthfully, it was only mock-serpent. Shh, don't tell my kids. Real monstrous sea serpents are endangered, you know.)

Mock sea serpents are really very simple to prepare but require only the finest ingredients.

You'll need hotdogs and raw spaghetti noodles. Both will need to be cut/broken in half.

Gently slide the spaghetti halves into the cut ends of the hotdogs.

Using a sharp knife, cut a half-inch incision in the other end to form the mouth.

Here's something not many people know - sea serpents really are gentle creatures when they're born. They live nice, peaceful lives and are friends to the fishes. The trick to turning them into ferocious beasts, bred to destroy is cooking them in boiling water.

They despise boiling water.

When they are thoroughly angry - but before they are roasted alive - remove them from the torture chamber and place them back in the deep ocean where they can freely wreak havoc on their once-friends the fish, the sharks, and the unsuspecting ships. Sit back and be amazed by their fierce vengeance.

You might even catch some of the action, if you're lucky. Your pictures may be compromised though if you're holding a fussy baby in one arm and trying to take pictures with the other.

We watched a sea serpent as it silently floated beneath the surface. Within minutes, it leaped out of the water and took a huge bite out of a ship as it dragged it down below. 

 Hearing the commotion and smelling dinner, a second serpent quickly approached.

The first serpent, possessive of its feast, attacked the other. He finished him off like an appetizer before heading back to his ship meal.

There were no survivors.

Then the kids asked to help birth more sea serpents.

They're a vicious bunch.

And what sea serpent day would be complete without a frothy, serpenty-green drink???  That evening, we enjoyed Sea Slurpents while we reminisced about our adventure-filled day. 


Next time you're sailing the open sea in search of hidden treasure, keep a vigilant eye on the horizon. You just might spot the shadow of a mighty sea serpent lurking below.



Sea Serpents
Ingredients:
hotdogs
spaghetti noodles (3 per hotdog)

Directions:
1. Cut hotdogs in half; break spaghetti noodles in half.
2. Carefully insert 6 noodle halves into the cut-end of each hotdog. Make a half-inch slice in the other end of the hotdog to form the serpent's mouth.
3. Cook according to spaghetti instructions. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well.
 
Recipe idea adapted from Feed Our Families.


Sea Slurpent
Ingredients:
limeade 
carbonated soda
lime sherbert

Directions:
Mix limeade and carbonated soda in a glass. (We carbonated a liter of water using our SodaStream and added a packet of True Lime.) Add 2 scoops of lime sherbert.

Linked to TGIF Linky Party, the Sunday Showcase, Show-and-Share 

Dive Into Your Imagination

I am fascinated by the ocean. The fish, the animals, the colors, the variety - God's creation is amazing! My hubby got his scuba certification when he was a teenager and loved the experience. Since there are no oceans to scuba dive in Michigan, we have to settle for the next best thing - videos. We've had the privilege to watch What Makes A Fish A Fish? which showcases God's creation beautifully.

Annie Crawley, aka "Ocean Annie,"  is the founder of the Dive Into Your Imagination company and the producer of the video. Annie is an underwater cinematographer, educator, motivational speaker, scuba diving instructor, and boat captain. She's traveled all around the world and has created award-winning books, DVDs, and motivational art based on her findings. Annie created Dive Into Your Imagination to change the way the next generation views the ocean. She wants children and their parents to fall in love with all the animals of the sea "because we protect what we love."

What Makes A Fish A Fish? teaches children about fish from all over the world. The footage and quality are beautiful! It's very informative and fun to watch. My kids (6, 4, 2) had fun pointing out the things they recognized and loved learning about new things, too. The 37-minute video is divided into 8 chapters:

1. What Make A Fish A Fish
2. Sea Anemones and Their Friends
3. Hide and Seek on the Reef
4. Frogfish Are Funny Looking Fish
5. Bath Time for Fishes
6. Don't Be Afraid of Sharks
7. Dinner Time for Fish
8. Fishes, Fishes, More and More Fishes

Along with the DVD, we received the teacher guide. (We used the prek-k version, but there is also one for grades 1-3.) It's nearly 300 pages and is very extensive! It is written for the classroom setting, but can easily be adapted to use at home. It's not just work pages, coloring pages, and facts. The guide includes activities like painting a pillowcase to camouflage into the scene in the video, play acting like frogfish, and working together as a team like the sea anemone and clownfish.     

What Makes A Fish A Fish? is the first video in Dive Into Your Imagination. The series also includes Who Lives in the Sea? and Dive Into Diversity. Each DVD costs $19.95. The teacher guides are available for $299 as a printed version of the entire set or $69.95 for an individual PDF. Also, shipping is FREE until the end of June, and as a bonus if you purchase a DVD and mention that you are a homeschool parent, Ocean Annie will gift you a set of the PDFs for FREE as well! 

I recommend taking advantage of these deals now and experience the awesomeness of Dive Into You Imagination.

You can find more reviews of What Makes A Fish A Fish and the other 2 videos on the TOS Crew blog.  

* Disclaimer - I was sent this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Camping Trip 2011

Every year, we go camping on my brother's property with his family and a bunch of friends. It is a blast! It's something that everyone looks forward to. As soon as the last of the snow melts and the buds begin to form on the trees, Jake asks (almost every day!) when we're going camping.

And let me tell you, this is camping, like really camping. No running water . . . no bathroom . . . no shower . . . no refrigerator . . . no lights. It's just us in a tent with a bucket in a pop-up deer blind for a bathroom, melting ice in coolers to keep our food fresh, and baths in the water-filled gravel pit . . . And a bonfire, and stars, and s'mores, and fishing, and swimming, and four-wheeling, and relaxing, and quality time spent together. And laughing, lots of laughing. 

Camping.

Alyssa caught her very first fish with my brother's help. Jacob caught many, many fish - no help required. Zac had fun playing in the sand, throwing mud, and chasing the dog. We saw many frogs, toads, deer, geese, turkeys, and other wildlife.

I've spared you the 700+ pictures and shared . . . just a few.

Now can you see why we love to go camping???

Wordless Wednesday 9/7/11