Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 278
Turtles
Hello Everyone
My Auntie Alice has a very ancient tortoise among the many animals she looks after in her cottage.
The other day it went missing and she was rather concerned about it.
She went to look for him and after a long search he was located under a fence far away from the house.
He seemed a bit stuck so it was lucky she found him.
Auntie Alice put him back on the lawn outside the kitchen where she could keep a close eye on him. She gave him some food to keep him busy for a while.
Even though tortoises are very slow they can still travel along way once they get going!
Do you know the difference between tortoises and turtles?
Well, tortoises live on land and turtles live some of the time in water.
Because my lighthouse is surrounded by sea, l often like to tell you about the sea creatures that surround my home.
Did you know that the oceans provide 99% of the living space on Earth?
Bill, Bob and Emily did a class project about turtles once in school and when they told me all about it, l realized that l had never written a blog post about them, so here is one now…
Turtles are reptiles. They have a distinctive shell on their backs and tummies which is actually an extension of ribs in their skeleton.
Some of them live in the sea and some of them live in fresh water but they breathe air. There are over 300 different types. They are cold-blooded – that means their body temperature alters according to the air temperature around them.
They have been on Earth for about 157 million years which means that they have been around longer than snakes or crocodiles.
Sadly, after all this time, some of them are in danger of dying out; over 60 species in fact.
These are what we call endangered species.
A lot of turtles are still taken for food or to be processed in Chinese medicine or used in the cosmetics industry – but keeping them as pets now is greatly discouraged; or even illegal in some places.
The largest turtle is the leatherback. Their shells can grow as long as 200cm – or over 6 feet. Most turtle shells are hard but the leatherback has tough leathery skin on its shell which is what gives it its name.
Some turtle shells are brown or black or dark green but some are brightly marked with red, yellow or orange markings.
Turtles have a light, streamlined shell which helps them to swim. Their feet are webbed. And some of them swim a very long way through the sea as they migrate huge distances. They can see well when there isn’t much light which is useful in murky seas. The sea turtles have limbs which look like flippers. They can use them like oars and rudders to propel and steer themselves through the water.
Leatherbacks migrate from the West lndies following the currents and the jellyfish that they eat, across the Atlantic past the British lsles and up to the Arctic.
Sea turtles spend most of the time in the water and have flippers instead of feet. The females must come onto the land to lay their eggs. There they dig a hole in the sand or mud close to the sea and deposit large numbers of eggs. The eggs are covered over with sand again and the baby turtles are left to look after themselves. They hatch many days later and push their way to the surface. Then they make their way down the beach to the sea.
Once the babies hatch there is a mad scramble to get down to the sea before any gulls might spot them.
Sometimes, kind humans help baby turtles reach the sea safely because the species might be in danger. Sometimes people even dig the eggs up after they have been laid and incubate them.
Some turtles that live in lakes and rivers tend to walk along the bottom underwater and use their claws to clamber over rocks and up onto the bank.
Turtles eat underwater plants and sometimes they eat water snails and worms too. Some eat fish or jellyfish.
lf they mistake a plastic bag floating in the water for a jellyfish, it is disastrous for them – another reason not to leave litter around.
Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Why did the turtle cross the road?
Bill: l don’t know. Why did the turtle cross the road?
Bob: To visit the Shell station!
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
Skeleton of snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Turtles use their flippers to swim through the water
A baby makes its way to the sea
Baby turtles
(hdimagelib.com)
Baby turtle
(Pinstop.com)
A green sea turtle
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
Auntie Alice made a little turtle this week. That is the fifth little toy she has knitted recently.
All the animals are very cute and extremely easy to make.
If you want to make these animals to give to a small child, please make sure that there are no loose bits or anything they can bite off which could cause a choking hazard. Otherwise they should have a lot of fun with their little gang.
The children told me about how Miss Pringle had found a picture of some turtles online when they were doing their turtle projects and decided to turn them into a class project.
She cut out lots of turtle shapes and got the children to draw patterns on their shells and heads and flippers.
Then they coloured them in so that they were really colourful.
When all the turtles were finished, Miss Pringle stuck them up the wall by the door so it looked as though they were swimming up to the ceiling.
NEWSDESK MINIMAKE
A 12” DOLL BIKINI
And in case your doll will want to go down to the beach this summer, here is a pattern for a little bikini.
It is knitted in garter stitch.
BIKINI BOTTOM (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Knit 2 together, knit to last 2 stitches, knit 2 together
Knit 3 rows
Repeat the last 4 rows twice (6sts)
Knit 8 rows of garter stitch
Increase 1 stitch at each end of the next row
Knit 3 rows
Repeat the last 4 rows twice (12sts)
Cast off
Run a length of yarn up each side of the bikini bottom (leg holes) and pull in slightly to make the edges neater
Sew the sides together at the top for about ½cm but check first that the bottom will fit over your doll’s hips – if the bottom needs to be a bit wider, sew a bar of yarn across from front to back
BIKINI TOP (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 22 stitches
Knit 8 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
Thread a 30cm length of yarn of a contrasting colour through the back of the top and tie into a bow to pull the top onto the doll – see photograph
Tie a little length of yarn around the top and you have a completely different look.
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Quick Quiz
Untangle these words to make two words which are things found on a turtle.
1. Clliamwbss
2. Tbaeialk
3. Ftloinpgpueer
4. Sehyeelsl
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A LlTTLE KNlTTED TURTLE
So here is the pattern for a little knitted turtle for your gang.
TURTLE BODY (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 20 stitches
Knit 24 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – instead run a length of yarn through the stitches so that you can take them off your needle
TURTLE LEGS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 10 stitches
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – instead run a length of yarn through the stitches so that you can take them off your needle
TURTLE ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – instead run a length of yarn through the stitches so that you can take them off your needle
TURTLE SHELL (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 160 stitches
Cast off
Curl the shell round and sew the strip of knitting to itself as you go
Push the needle backwards and forwards from the rim to the centre to create ‘spokes’ through the knitting to make the shell extra firm
Embroider blanket stitch around the edge of the shell in white yarn
TO MAKE UP
1. Sew up the centre back seam of the body right sides together and turn body right way out
2. Sew up the bottom seam wrong sides together
3. Sew up the leg inside seams with right sides together
4. Turn the legs the right way out and pull in the ends of the feet and slip the yarn up the back seam to the back of the ankle and secure into the back seam
5. Bind yarn tightly around the bottom of the legs to make ankles
6. Lightly stuff the legs and sew the tops onto the bottom of the body by laying the legs onto the stomach and sewing from behind (place the leg seams facing each other)
7. Sew up the under arm seams with right sides together
8. Turn the arms the right way out
9. Bind yarn tightly around the arms to make wrists in the same way that the ankles were made
10. Lightly stuff the arms and sew the tops onto the sides of the body by laying the arms onto the chest and sewing from behind
11. Stuff the body and pull in the top of the head to close it up then take the yarn down the back seam and secure into the back seam at shoulder level
12. Bind some yarn tightly around the body twice above the arms to make a neck
13. Sew the beak as a ‘v’ with grey yarn and the eyes onto the front of the face using black dk yarn – make the eyes with French knots (wind the yarn around the needle three times)
14. Crochet 7 chains into three strand of yarn and sew this tail into place
15. Sew the shell to the back of the body neatly – you can attach it above and under the top of the arms and the base of the back of the neck so that the stitching won’t show
16. lf you are making your turtle into a decoration for a bag or key ring, sew the chain to the top of the head
TIP
When you sew up the seams take the yarn to the outside of the knitting ready to make the ankles, wrists and neck.
Here they are again playing piggy in the middle!
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and 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 the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
The words are slotted together
1. Claws limbs
2. Tail beak
3. Flipper tongue
4. Shell eyes
For an Embroidery Stitches Chart
Check out Blog Post 3
