A fieldtrip to the zoo

May 24, 2012

As the school year came to a close, the girls class spent the day at the local zoo.  For some unknown reason, the fourth grade teachers decided at the last minutes that the fourth graders would also go on a fieldtrip to the zoo despite the fact that the kids had gone in first grade.  Of course, the two trips were scheduled four days apart which I found impossible to work into my schedule.  I needed to go on both trips because of transportation issues so instead of going on two different days, I pulled Jamal out of school and he went along with me to the girls zoo trip.  It actually worked out really well!  We had a lot of fun exploring the zoo with friends and were able to stay a little longer than the class did which left us with a zoo virtually to ourselves.  I took a lot of heat for switching Jamahl’s days, but am so glad that I stuck to my guns and was able to enjoy the zoo with him as well. He is an amazing big brother who loved teaching the first graders his vast wealth of zoology!

It is always amazing to me how the kids respond to the animals at the zoo.  First and foremost, this is not a large zoo.  You can easily walk through the entire thing in a couple of hours.  We have gone to this particular zoo several times and the kids never tire of it.  It is pretty neat that you always see things a little different depending on the weather and the time of year.  The zoo is not particularly handicapped accessible, but we all did our best getting Keyan as close as we could in the hopes that she would be able to see. She was often left to using her other senses and it is always fun to “watch” how her hearing and smell become intensified when she can’t see that well.  Our bodies are SOOO adaptable!  In true accord, her friend Max navigated her though the zoo and was often her eyes for her, describing to her what he saw. 

I love spending time with the kids and their friends.  You can learn so much about your own kids by sitting back and watching how they interact with their peers.  I love to watch the smiles on their faces as they share the excitement of a newly discovered animal with their friend or watch their eyes twinkle as they discuss the exact shade of the pink flamingos.  It is exciting to watch my “shy” Sidney blabbing away with her friends about the bear who we watched take a bath.  Most of all, it is comforting to know that despite being a very tight little sibling group, our girls are absolutely unique individuals with different opinions, moods, ideas, and spirits.  I walked away from the zoo very tired and hot, but grateful for the precious being that I have been given as a mom.