We headed to the zoo today. It is our first trip there since we "be-friended" henry. Sam was so excited to get to see her friend Henry the lion. We contained her excitement for a while and then headed to the lion enclosure. I also knew that Henry and his "wife" (as I was refering to the female lion) had welcomed a new baby cub recently, so I was really excited to see what Sam would think of all the lions!
We could see them much closer from a glassed-in viewing area but my pictures weren't turning out from behind the glass so I had to take the picture from further away, and of course the cub was hiding at that point! When Sam first walked up to the lion area she ran over to the window and yelled "HI HENRY!".
We did see other animals too.
And we had a great time showing off one of our favorite spots to Sam's friends!
Free zoos like ours are amazing! We try to go as often as we can and make donations when we can. It is a great resource for parents, schools and camps to utilize.
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The Nitty Gritty!
One feature about zoos that often gets over looked is the green space, the picnic opportunities, the ponds and beautiful flowers/gardens. Our zoo even has a great organic example garden that shows lots of different veggies and fruits being grown. If you have a free zoo and are there quite often like we are you may try taking a closer look at some of these features the next time you go. Plan a color or flower scavenger hunt to accompany your trip to the zoo, pack a picnic or just simple point out interesting plants or water features that your little one may not have noticed before.
Another quick note...there were quite a few field trips going on at our zoo today. I noticed a lot of very excited and high energy kids. With parents that were standing at the back, chatting to each other, on their phones or just being quiet. I started thinking, "is that the kind of field trip parent I would be?" and "is that what kids want their parents to do?", and "what about the teachers, do they want the parents to stay in the background or be front and center experiencing this with their kids?" I have no idea what the answers to these questions might be. I expect that it depends on the age of the child, type of child, type of school and type of field trip. But I hope that I will be a bit more actively involved and that Sam and Avery will want me to be more actively involved.
Outdoor Play Link Up is coming at you in the morning! Hope you will all stop by and share your ways of playing outdoors.
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