Boxey the Turtle

On a torentially raining school day, the kids couldn't focus and where dying to go out in the rain. Out TJ went to examine the damage the rain was having on the creek from the fast flowing water. Along the sidelines of the creek, he found a turtle floating and picked it up. Box turtles are not good swimmers and are not meant to be floating down the creek. TJ rescued the turtle and brought it up to the house. He was feeling like quite the hero since Daddy really laid on the accolades for it! We used this as an opportunity to learn all about box turtles. We researched it on the internet. Then we took pictures of it and compared its marking to what we found on the computer. We identified its natural habitat, what it eats, and more. Also we found out what it would need if we decided to keep it as a pet inside. I found some research sheets on the computer and printed them out for the kids to fill out and keep in their notebooks. We followed all the instructions on care for a box turtle but boxey only lived for two days. He was bubbling at the mouth the whole time. We made the assumption that he probably had gotten water logged and drowned in his own shell. All three kids documented the experience.