Tiny Tails To You (Traveling Petting Zoo)

I am melting.  Texas right now is bloody hot.  The sun in Texas is 4 times as hot as the Mississippi sun I grew up with.  Texas has fewer shade trees and I am generally miserable.  I look for fun indoor activities so we don't feel cooped up.  We recently went to an indoor petting zoo playdate and had a blast.

The turtle was nice.  It had great textures and was slow and friendly.

Ginger said the guinea pig was too heavy.  It was chunky compared to the other animals we cuddled.

Omg, the bunnies.  That blurry flappy thing at the top is a chick.  The chicks were all over the place, brave as they could be.  

Sugar's FAVORITE!  This bunny would have happily come home with her too.

Ginger liked the smaller bunnies the best.

All 3 smaller bunnies.

More daredevil chicks and this duck/goose.  After the hour we were with the petting zoo, I don't think this baby duck/goose will make it too long in life.  Not only was it awkward on it's little legs, falling off of little laps, but it was the most dropped of all the animals. 

Sugar did not like holding this bearded dragon.  It reached out to hold on to her shirt and she jumped a bit.  We did pet it though.

This blur is a chinchilla.  The girls were not impressed with how soft it was, they had bunnies.  At one point this smart creature put itself back in it's cage.  I think it was protecting itself from all the little feet and hands.  Plus it might have seen the duck/goose get dropped a couple of times.

For the Love of Learning

Ginger is the reason I took on homeschooling.  She wanted to read at 3.  Every school day, when a public school's bell would normally ring she comes to me and says, what are we learning today?  She is the one leading this circus train and she is my motivation.  I never want her to be complacent with what she already knows.  I love that she is always rationalizing things based on one or two pieces she already knows.  Her conclusion may be wrong, but she is at least learning the process.

Sugar is a different story.  She is only 4 and would rather play.  She is still trying, but things don't come as easy for her and I have to try harder to keep her from losing interest.  She needs more one on one time, which Ginger gets jealous of.

It is a juggling act for sure, but would they be better off in a big box school?  I don't think so.  They both like to learn things and they both seek out answers and ask questions.  Sugar, who is soft spoken and internalizes a lot, would likely get lost amongst 24 other kids.  Ginger, being loud and bouncy, would totally end up being a trouble child.  And both of them would learn that they way they want to learn is not the "right" way and then their love of learning would be squashed.

Yes, a lot of this is speculation on my part.  But right now, this is what is best for us.  Plus, I am currently smarter than they are.  For how long?  I don't know.

House Shopping

We spent the first part of the summer house shopping.  We would take the girls and go explore other people's homes.  I thought the girls would be bored so I created books for them to draw pictures and take notes about what they liked and didn't like about each home.

I didn't need to go to the trouble, it turns out.  The girls had fun running through other people's homes, looking in their closets and garages and going up and down stairs 30 times per house.

We found 1 house that Sugar REALLY wanted us to buy.  It had a short door underneath the stairs and Sugar promptly claimed it as her room.   We found a different house with a princess room that she wanted as well.

The princess room's house even had a great backyard and was almost perfect for us.  We did not buy it, however we learned a lot from the process.

The girls learned how to respect other people's stuff.  They learned that just because you see it and love it does not mean it is right for you.  They learned a bit about style and what they might like to change about their current rooms.

Husband and I learned quite a bit more that the girls did, but we enjoyed seeing what the girls look for in their dream homes and when we try this again, we will know better what we, as a family, should be looking for.

Crafting with Kids

I might be a little high strung but my stress level soars when it comes to crafting with the girls.  My sister can do it.  Most teachers can do it.  I get twitchy.  Turrets twitchy.

We made birthday cards for several family members recently.  We collected our art boxes (markers, crayons, glue sticks, scissors.)  I gathered the shaped hole punches and scrap paper.  I even got out the name stamps that my sister hand carved and the ink pads.  Then I promptly wished that no one had birthdays ever again.

The girls hole punched and glued, and scribbled and folded and stamped and I had to walk away because I was internally neurotic.

OH MY GOODNESS the possible mess.  The ink all over the floor, the glue stick in the hair, the marker all the way up their arms and the teeny scraps of paper everywhere.  I know all this can be cleaned, most of it very easily, with tools even, but I still go nuts thinking about it.

The girls, 6 and 4, did not make a mess.  There is marker on hands, but isn't there always.  There is a name stamped on the table, but it is the kids table and will probably wash right off.  There is maybe 3 tiny scraps of paper on the floor, nothing the vacuum cleaner can't make quick work of.

Why do I get neurotic and twitchy?  Maybe next time I decide to do crafting time with the girls, I should consider medicating.