Hi, everybody. I'm very excited because on Oct. 6, I will be one of 4 volunteers working with a bunch of 5-8-year-old 4-H kids (they're called "Cloverbuds" at that age) at an "activity day" my county is offering. I heard they were looking for someone to teach the kids about reptiles and amphibians, with an emphasis on 4-H's "Learn by Doing" philosophy. (The other three sessions will be on various nature/wildlife topics.)

I'm planning to bring in my pets, of course: my little cornsnake, my 2 leopard geckos, my crestie and my Bearded Dragon. The kids should be able to hold or touch most of them.

I also have some native animals (well, the corn is native, I guess, though mine is CB) to show them: about a dozen little spotted salamanders, 2 teeny-tiny baby eastern fence lizards I caught by pure chance a couple of days ago, and an American toad who was hopping across the street this evening while we were out for a family walk.

I have a microscope to bring in, and I can show them some snake and lizard shed skins as well as some turtle shells from our woods. And we're going to play "Reptile and Amphibian Bingo"!

I also want to give them advice on what to do if they find a snake in the wild (don't automatically kill it, but don't try to handle it unless you or an adult you know can identify it), and how to identify the two venomous species in our area, the Eastern Cottonmouth and the Copperhead. Oh, and I want to tell them that they shouldn't collect wild Eastern Box Turtles, as they are threatened.

And I have little plastic lizards for them to take home.

I'm really looking forward to it!

__________________
Amy

Wow, sounds busy! make sure you bring your camera!

__________________

That's awesome. I never thought of that for 4-H. They have that program up here as well. But it's all about livestock.

__________________
Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

They do livestock here as well, but I've learned that 4-H has really expanded their programs. They have a bit of everything, from wildlife to livestock to home ec to woodshop to money management... It's a cool program.

__________________
Amy

That's awesome Amy, best of luck and post pics for us.

__________________
Ken
" The United States Marine Corps......sure we are a department of the Navy,,,,,,we're the MENS department "

I'll need a photographer, I guess, because I think I'm going to be very busy showing animals to the kids! Hmm... Must find a likely victim -- erm -- friend.

__________________
Amy

My girls showed my boa and my Columbian Tegu at the 4-H fair this year. This is the last year for our 4-H Club. The young kids had a great time handling the reptiles. Mine are very personable. It is a great teaching experience, even for the parents of other kids, quite often they will pet a reptile after their kids do but not before!!! Good luck. Go Cloverbuds!