Montgomery Zoo Day

We've been enjoying the wonderful weather this week. Every day, we've been out riding our bikes and conversing about falling leaves and why they change colors. It's been so fun! On Thursday, Jackson figured out how to get started on his bike without any help from me. I was so thrilled for him and he was so excited. Jackson truly amazes me because all of these things he has learned how to do (ride a bike, stop his bike, start his bike, ride a scooter, brake a scooter, etc.), he seems to do without any effort. Nothing seems difficult for him. I constantly remind him that the Lord gifted him with a desire to learn and the ability to balance well. I want him to know that the honor belongs to the Lord for his accomplishments.

Although Saturday is just like a weekday for me, it still feels more relaxing. Jason had to work on a test today, so I took the kids to the zoo. (We almost didn't go because we got a late start, which totally irritated me, and the kids were really whiny. I had a horrible attitude and was impatient with the kids, but the Lord humbled me. After an exchange of apologies between me and Jackson, we were on our way. Thank goodness for forgiveness and a fresh start! Children make it so easy.)

Our first stop at the zoo was the train station. Riding the train is Jackson's favorite part of visiting the zoo! I've learned to ride the train first because that boy has a one track mind and will not be interested in anything else until he rides the train. After our train ride, we stumbled upon a giraffe feeding station. What?! We can feed giraffes! I was so excited!! It was $1 per feeding. I think I paid $5 because we were having so much fun.

Jackson's walking across the bridge to offer his first mimosa leaves. I couldn't believe that he wasn't a little afraid. (Normally, he is.)

Jackson loved it!

He wasn't afraid at all!

I love giraffes. I think they are so beautiful.

Jackson fed three times while Alli was riding on my back and watching. Finally, my brain woke up and I got some leaves for Alli. This was absolutely something she could do. She didn't need any coaching:

And she wasn't afraid one little bit. Will you look at that tongue! Grab the leaves...

Pull them in...

And then play a little tug-a-war!

This was probably my favorite part of the day. Animal encounters!! What a great learning experience.

After feeding the giraffes, we headed towards the pedal boats in hopes of riding one. As we crossed the bridge toward Crystal Lake, we found another feeding station. The otters!

Jackson fed them most of the food, but we let Alli throw a few treats over the rail.

This glass was great because she could see everything:

Strollers make great step stools (here and when in the bathroom washing hands).

We couldn't ride the pedal boats because there was no way for me to restrain my adventurous and water-loving toddler. Jackson was disappointed, but we decided to look forward to our next opportunity.

This was the first zoo trip that Jackson actually wanted to see the animals. Usually, he's too interested in the train, the zoo vehicles (like flatbed trucks), the playground, and running around.

We saw the bald eagle:

Alli loved looking over the rails. She was just barely tall enough.

We skipped naps for the day, so Allison was a little crazy. Thankfully, the zoo wasn't crowded, so I let her run free quite a bit.

We all loved the elephants. The baby elephant was so cute...and playful:

And no zoo trip is complete without playing at the playground. We slid down slides (Alli is fearless and slid right off the end of one), swung on swings, dug in the dirt and spun around this thing:

I lifted Jackson up, he grabbed on, I spun him around, and then he dropped whenever he was ready. He loved it!

I love this picture. He got a little physics lesson - his body is still going in the direction of the spin even though he dropped!

I grabbed on one time to spin with him and he let go on the high side, fell on his back and knocked the wind out of himself. He did not like that at all. I felt terrible.

After the playground, Allison finally gave up and fell asleep in the stroller. (I wish I had a photo of her.) Jackson and I took advantage of it and saw the reptiles. He was fascinated and interested in knowing lots of facts about them. We had a great time together. We saw some birds and small mammals, grabbed a lollipop stick, and then headed to the van. It was a fun-filled day!

Fall Crafts

When I have time, I like to browse other blogs for craft ideas and homeschool ideas. I enjoy doing crafts with my kids and they both love it. (Well, Alli is just now getting to the age when she can participate in some things.) These are a few of the blogs I go to for craft ideas:

1+1+1=1
Amazing Adventures Awake
Homeschool Creations
Totally Tots

I found this marble painting idea on 1+1+1=1. We had a blast with it! First, you print out the pumpkin printable on cardstock. Then, you tape it to the inside of a box top.

We used four paint colors and four marbles:

Put the marbles in the box and move the box all around so that the painted marbles run across the white pumpkin:

This was so much fun for Jackson and captivated him for a while. He didn't want to stop until he could no longer see white on his pumpkin!

When you take the pumpkin off, your box top looks really cool!

Then you add six baby pumpkins and repeat the entire process:

After we made our pumpkins, we made a fall tree. First, Jackson painted a white piece of cardstock with fall colors and a little bit of green to resemble grass with fallen leaves. Then, we took a paper towel tube and painted it brown. Once it dried, we cut four slits in the bottom and about twelve slits in the top. We glued the "tree trunk" to the "ground" and then hot glued leaves to the ends of each "branch."

I absolutely love it!

Once we finished our fall tree, we pulled out all of the paints and had some creative fun. Allison had her first experience with finger painting. Jackson, bless his precious heart, was so excited for her!

After a while, she started grabbing the paper and wadding it up. I took the paper off and let her paint her tray:

Jackson decided to forget his brushes and finger paint his canvas:

He loves to paint...and I would much rather do this than watch television.

About a month or two ago, we painted flowers with sponges and he wanted to paint some more. We got out the sponges and made one flower. Later that night, I decided to paint a few more with the leftover paint that was on our paint plate. I also wrote Genesis 1 on our masterpiece because we've been singing a Bible song about creation. It's on our top five playlist in the van and we all get excited to sing it. God created the earth and everything in it, and we are His masterpiece. Whenever I looked at our artwork, Genesis 1 was the one and only thing that came to my mind. Isn't it lovely?!