Talking Turtle

Turtles have mobile homes. Wherever they go, their houses go, too! Their house made of bone and is called a carapace. They wear it, sleep in it, live in it and can be safe and snuggly inside of it.

Instructions

1. Sit down with your legs wide.
2. Flex your feet.
3. Place your hands on the floor.
4. Lift your knees and slide your hands under your knees, as far away from each other as possible.
5. Bend forward at the hips and lengthen your chest along the floor.
6. Rest.
7. Come in and out of your shell as you lift your head up and come back down.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Laughing Language

Sit across from each other in Turtle pose. Take turns coming in and out of your shell. Talk to each other or make sounds. Communicate in your own turtle language.

Visual Vignettes

Use Walnut shells as your carapace. Pipe cleaners or toothpicks as your arms and legs. Create a turtle head. Put them all together.

Ecological Echoes

Turtles have nostrils at the top of their heads so they can breathe while most of their body is under water.

Nutrition Tips

What foods grow on trees and have hard shells that protect them like the turtle does?

Yup. You got it. Nuts.

There are so many types of nuts. Can you guess some of them? Yup, walnuts, pecans, pinyons, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds. (The peanut is actually not a nut, but a legume. Other legumes include beans and peas.)

Nuts come from trees. Nuts are a great source of protein for vegetarians. They do not contain cholesterol, but have phytosterols which which keep their oil stable during storage, and may also reduce blood cholesterol levels. Their high levels of copper may be a preventative for hardening of the arteries. Lastly they are a good source of magnesium, which most of us don’t get enough of. Magnesium has been known to lower heart disease in some populations.

So go nuts and get healthy.