Got Crabs?

My daughter and I enjoyed a beautiful beach walk this morning at low tide with our dog. It was the first day that really felt like summer to me. We were enjoying the freedom of time not just sleeping in and regretting the laziness later.

The great part for me was reflecting with her about various beach memories--both home and away. It is gratifying as a parent to hear that the experiences we afford our children have actually registered and can be recalled.

We were poking around the tidepools at Cardiff Seaside beach in North County San Diego. Another great section of tidepools is at Swamis just 3 miles north toward Carlsbad, California.  She remembered seine netting in Nantucket at the Maria Mitchell Association one summer. And also finding a whole unaltered sand dollar on Sanibel in Florida another summer. So whether you are bound for our neck of the woods or another beach, be sure to investigate local tidepools at low tide. 

The Beach Map site launched by Surfrider Foundation is a handy tool for choosing your destination anywhere in the world. As a wiki, it is being written through active participation. You can find, enjoy, or add a beach to the site which is set up like a google map withthe added value of information about lifeguards, parking, snack bars and access. Check it to learn what locals know about the beaches in the area you're be visiting and contribute to it what you learn about a particular beach that you frequent. The luddite equivalent and my personal preference is the California Coastal Access Guide which really is the Bible if you are going to drive the California coast and want to know anything (and everything) about the beaches on your way. 

A tide chart from a local fishing or surf shop will clue you in on when to arrive for the best visibility (as the tide is receding and crabs are hanging on for dear life to their little caverns and nooks). Tidepools are God's water parks! They offer free of charge, natural diving platforms, interactive squirting anemones, and countless scampering crabs to chase. Engaging with a tidepool for even a half hour is a sensory experience offering cause and effect, hand-eye coordination, and proprioception galore to children of all ages! Beats the heck out of Soak City, if you ask me. 

The perfect book to read before, during, or after your tidepool encounter is Pagoo by Holling Clancy Holling. Pagoo is a hermit crab who lives his exciting lifespan over the course of 20 chapters. In the process of getting to know him, readers learn the equivalent of an ocean biology course because of the accuracy of detail Holling incorporates into his riveting 

personification of the crab as well as the dense sidebar notes on each page. Teachers have used it to write lesson plans that fulfill California standards in a most engaging way. Many homeschool groups have mined it for material. I usually have multiple titles to cross reference and engage different level readers but, this one truly stands alone. Take it with you this summer to a tidepool! 

photo credit: earthguide.ucsd.edu