two hundred
Thanks to PBS, Netflix and dvds from the library, Chris and Martin Kratt have nearly become part of the family. Their three PBS shows, Kratts’ Creatures, Zoboomafoo and Wild Kratts are huge favorites with our girls, and I’ll admit that they are a favorite of mine as well.
The shows are, on the surface, a showcase of different wild animals. But the brothers take what could be a basic show and tell and make the creatures, their habits and their habitats interesting, relevant and memorable to their viewers.
I appreciate the way that the Kratts use accurate and scientific language, despite their target age demographic (preschool-elementary). I love that my four year old can tell me “This moon jelly is totally clear. That is its camouflage and it is a defense against predators.”
I also owe the Kratts a thank you for the way she can then go on to hypothesize, “I think their predators might be bigger fish…and maybe turtles. It must be something that lives in the sea.” She is learning the scientific method because the Kratts demonstrate it with enthusiasm, instead of just explaining it.
They have fanned a fire in our love of nature and animals. They have given us ways to connect the creatures around us with each other and with ourselves. They have encouraged confident, safe and appropriate interaction with animals in our daily lives.
And it is thanks to Chris and Martin that we were able to fully appreciate this gift of a cicada, left, in a home made cup terrarium, on our doorstep today.
We took time to observe its body, its clear wings, its six legs. “Look at his eyes, Mama! I bet he can see everything all around him!”. We guessed at what the coloring on its back might camouflage into- a rock, the dirt, a tree! One brave girl touched it, ever so gently. We looked for a mouth and Catherine found a proboscis instead. “That’s not what I expected!” she exclaimed.
The girls were anxious to let him go, “He’s happier in his house than in your house” Esme quoted to me from Zoboomafoo. So we opened the cup to let it free. It stayed for a while, giving us a closeup view not obscured by the green cup. We looked some more and finally, with a huff and a puff from Esme, it flew up into a nearby branch.
Biology, zoology, scientific method and awesome all rolled into one little bug. Nice.
