Mammal Study for the Outdoor Hour Challenge

This month Barb, at Handbook of Nature Study blog, provided us with the challenge of studying mammals. For our family, this has resulted in some very fun field trips.

First, we went to The Center for Marine Education and Research on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. They are a marine mammal rehabilitation facility. (That's a fancy way to say that they rescue and rehabilitate bottlenose dolphins native to our area of the Gulf Coast.)

We learned that dolphins are born with a little bit of hair around their rostrums (the pointy bottlenose part of the dolphin. It's not a nose, because they don't breathe through it.) They soon lose it. They are born alive after being carried inside the mother dolphin for an entire year. They breathe air, like us, but can hold their breaths for an extended period of time, if need be. They suckle at their mother's breast.

And we got to watch a dolphin show. It was a great deal of fun.

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The other field trip in which we participated as part of our nature study for the month was a field trip to a horse boarding farm. The children got a chance to brush the horses, learn about safety around horses and each one got to ride. Before we left for the field trip, I read the entry from HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY to the children.

They had such a wonderful experience that we hope to be able to add individual horse riding lessons for each of the children. The owner of this farm will allow me to pay for lessons per child as I can afford it. She doesn't require a commitment for a series of lessons. She is also willing to allow me to come during regular school hours with my children. We don't have any pets. The experience was so positive for my children that I hope to be able to do it once a month.

The children brushing the horse.

My middle daughter on the horse.

My son on the horse. 

My baby's hands on the reigns. Isn't that cute?

My youngest on the horse. 

I am submitting this to Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.