Wonderful Weather For...

A trip to the zoo! We woke up this morning all in a good mood and with the boys have plenty of energy to spare. I decided that instead of staying home and doing a few lessons and playing outside that we'd pack some snacks and head off to the zoo after an early lunch. I forgot the camera but no matter we have a membership so we'll go back again soon.

Our zoo just recently got Koalas! Because they are new there is a zoo volunteer/employee at the exhibit to answer questions and such about the animals. Our Koala's won't be staying on exhibit permanently as our desert climate is too hot for them, so we will have them until the end of March. We learned quite a bit about them, for starters Koala's are not a fierce animal, they are also not social animals. There weren't many people there and so the lady took quite a bit of time talking to the boys about the Koalas, answering all their questions, and even telling them some things they didn't think to ask. As we were leaving the exhibit she commented to me about how attentive the boys were and what school did they attend? When I said we homeschool she said "Oh, that must be it then, I've been talking to school groups all week and none of them listen like your boys! You must be so proud of them!" I thanked her for her nice comments and off we went.

Even little baby L was intently watching the animals. He even skipped his nap in favor of watching the animals and enjoying the excitement. The only time I heard a single peep out of L was when we rode the Carousel. He really did not like that at all, so we'll not be trying it again for a while!

We really had a lovely afternoon, as once the school groups cleared out around 1:30 we had the zoo practicaly to ourselves! There are few people there on a weekday once school groups leave, and it's nice to be able to get so up close and personal with the animals. We enjoyed the lions as they laid in the sun (usually in the summer they hide in the shade, out of the heat), we watched as the otters played in the pool and begged a nearby guest for popcorn (the animals are not supposed to be fed, but the occasional treat sometimes sneaks in), we laughed as baboons chased each other around and ate bark from the branches in their exhibit, we talked about how fast a cheetah can run, and why they have the color they do, we smiled as the elephants ate grass and the boys discussed how they never knew what elephants ate until they saw them today.

When we got to the children's petting area I thought for sure L would be scared of the larger goats, but he didn't utter a single peep, he just walked away when the larger nubian goats came near, but he would happily walk up to one of the smaller pygmy goats and pet it. He wasn't afraid of the sheep, but he had no interest in petting them. I briefly debated paying for the boys to have a camel ride, and then decided that we'd save it for another day when hubby was with us in case little L wasn't too keen on getting up on that large animal!

What a lovely afternoon we had, and the best part was that all the way home they were telling me all about what new facts and bits they learned today, and how they couldn't wait to get home and write and draw about their day! The very moment we got home they went straight to their school crates in search of colored pencils and sketchbooks where they drew the most lovely pictures of cheetahs and meerkats and lions, koalas and baboons and pelicans, monkeys and zebras, and giraffes each one just as detailed as the last and there were even a few sentences written! I would have loved to share some of the artwork but my shy little artists have requested that I not show anyone!

I think we learned more today that we have all week, and surprisingly I'm OK with that! I know that today they learned something so much more important that how to write proper sentences, or why rocks are the colors they are, or any of the other things we had on today's agenda. Today they learned that they are valuable to their mama, and that there is always time for fun, and that playtime is just as important as learning time, and I think that those are important lessons indeed!

Birbitt thinks that every child should have a day to just play and be a child, they grow up far to quickly and before we know it the children that used to enjoy days at the zoo with mom are now adults taking their own children to the zoo. I only know that because it doesn't seem all that long ago that my own mother and daddy were taking me to the zoo to see the animals.