Messenger

Messenger
by Lois Lowry

Leaving a land to seek a better life across borders makes this story relevant to today's world happenings. Lowry's tale of the demise of a culture that once was sought for safety, is captivating. The Village was a utopian place to escape too, but once there, most could not return to their old life. As time passed some residence of the Village sold away their soles for superficial changes in their appearance. This is a story about selfish gain, but ends with an ultimate act of unselfishness. The deeper I got into the story, the harder it was to put down the book.

Hermit Crab and Snails

Grover Beach provided some great opportunities for budding marine biologist's exploration. William found this hermit crab and two snails on the beach. The snails were his first find. Thinking they were only shells, he put them in his pile with the rest of his finds. On closer inspection of one of the snails we found that its foot was pulled up tightly covering the opening of the shell. The same was true for the second snail. Later, William brought up a hermit crab, he found while digging in the sand, which was tucked into its shell as well. We dropped them all into a bucket of sand and water to see what would happen. Before long, the three creatures were peeking out of their shells and moving about in the sand. Watch our video to see these sea creatures in action. Pay particular attention to the snails.