READING, WRITING, REPTILES : STUDENTS GET LESSON ON LIZARDS.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer To Erik Wislinsky, the scaly scal·y adj. 1. Covered or partially covered with scales. 2. Shedding scales or flakes; flaking. scaly skin condition characterized by scales; scalelike. back on the 13-foot-long albino albino (ălbī`nō) [Port.,=white], animal or plant lacking normal pigmentation. The absence of pigment is observed in the body covering (skin, hair, and feathers) and in the iris of the eye. Burmese python that slithered across a Horizon Hills Parenting Center classroom Wednesday felt like something you can eat. ``Do you know what that big snake feels like?'' the 4-year-old from Thousand Oaks shouted as he ran past other squealing squeal v. squealed, squeal·ing, squeals v.intr. 1. To give forth a loud shrill cry or sound. 2. Slang To turn informer; betray an accomplice or secret. v.tr. youngsters. ``It feels like corn!'' Garrett Squire got a forked tongue ``kiss'' from one of the reptiles brought to the center by The Reptile People, a Santa Monica educational group. But it was Hisser the giant python - the biggest of several snakes brought by Alan and Carolyn Carlson - that most impressed the 4-year-old from Moorpark. ``I like the big yellow snake,'' Garrett said. ``I liked that it was soft.'' Hisser was one of about 30 reptiles brought to the center Tuesday and Wednesday as an educational activity organized by the parents who work there with the children. Just about every reptile you can name - as well as a few other crawly crawl·y adj. crawl·i·er, crawl·i·est Informal 1. Creepy. 2. Feeling as if covered with moving things. critters - were on hand for the children to touch, hold or, in the case of Nefertiti the tortoise, actually ride. ``This is hands-on science at its most basic,'' said Twila Cook of Conejo Valley Adult School, which runs Horizon Hills. ``It seems that the children were less afraid than the parents. The children are more accepting of these creatures.'' The youngsters marveled at boa constrictors, frogs, lizards, an iguana iguana (ĭgwä`nə), name for several large lizards of the family Iguanidae, found in tropical America and the Galapagos. The common iguana (Iguana iguana , a tarantula tarantula (tərăn`chələ), name applied chiefly to several species of the large, hairy spiders of the families Theraphosidae and Dipluridae of North and South America. The body of a tarantula may be as much as 3 in. (7. and a scorpion. They gaped at the black and white tegu tegu skink-like lizards of the Americas; many genera and species including Tupinambis teguexin. as it rested in Alan Carlson's arms or sat on a youngster's head. To the youngsters' squeals and shrieks of delight, Carlson pulled a reptile from a straw basket or container with theatrical flair. Lining several youngsters at the front of the room, Carlson pulled one boa constrictor - then another and another and another - from their baskets and draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. them over the shoulders of the youngsters who appeared to enjoy every second of it. And bringing 4-year-old Kevin Denning up front, Carlson produced a 5-foot albino monitor lizard, whose skin texture was much like a basketball. ``At our house we just call her Cassandra,'' said Carlson, holding the lizard high so all the youngsters could see. ``Cassie has her own way of saying to Kevin you've done a good job,'' he added, slowly moving the lizard's face close to the youngster's cheek, which it flicked with its tongue. ``A lizard kiss!'' Carlson wants the youngsters to respect nature, for their sake as well as the animals', and advised them to stay clear of them if they ever came across them in the wild. ``Wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. are for leaving alone,'' he told the youngsters. ``Wild animals don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. that you're their friend and if you touch them they might be scared. And I don't want that to happen.'' Still, Carlson believes youngsters should get as much exposure as possible to creatures they might not otherwise get to see in real life. ``For city kids nature is something they see on TV,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--color) Molly Weinstein, 4, lets out a delighted scream as she holds a monitor lizard brought to her school to teach children about reptiles. (2--color) Alan Carlson, of The Reptile People educational group, shows afamily of lizards to youngsters at Horizon Hills Parenting Center. (3) Children gather to touch a monitor lizard's scaly hide, which is likea basketball in texture. Some received a forked-tongued ``kiss.'' Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
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