Eclectic Parent

OK every week is technically a homeschool week, but we just seemed to finally get out of our holiday mode and see people this week. Tuesday was park day. We haven’t been since before our trip to Mexico so it’s been a while. It was a small park day but the kids had a good time. I had forgotten the problem with digging in the sand when it’s cool out - sandals let the sand out while shoes keep it in (and hold more).

Wednesday the boys had swimming and then there was trip to the zoo. We haven’t been in months and they’ve really missed the zoo. We usually head straight for the animals and just go round the main path. We met up with a bunch of friends from the same homeschool group we’d seen at the park the day before. We usually head straight into the zoo but everyone was hanging out a the tree house play area when we got there. They ran and played for a couple of hours before we even headed into the animals. The whole thing cumulated in the kids building a dam across the stream with rocks and sand; they were so excited when it started backing up the water.

We slowly meandered from there to the orangutans. There was an employee giving a talk about them and answering questions. Kids enjoyed watching the baby orangutan play and learning that they watch TV. Continuing down the path we saw the lemurs and wandered through some tropical birds. The squirrel monkeys are in a large outdoor enclosure that you walk through. Usually they scamper and run but today it was cold and they were pretty calm. As we passed the otters we split up; part of the group went to the farm and part went to the sting rays. The sting rays are a great exhibit. The actually belong to another zoo but spend all winter in Arizona where its warmer. They are in a shallow tank where you can pet them. Place your hand flat near the top of the water and they’ll skim by and rub themselves against it; this year they have added a few small sharks to the tank as well. D was so excited to pet a shark. They also had someone there to answer question.

On Thursday the boys have three hours of art class with homeschoolers. It has always been art, dance and drama. This session art is being replaced by music. We’ll have to see what they think of it. B was going to try but C was home sick and she didn’t want to go in alone. Maybe she’ll go this week. If she did it would be 3 child-free hours once a week. Wow.