Day 26

Today went pretty well. Hard to believe it's already over again. Am I ever going to stop saying that this summer? haha Learned about flippers and fins this morning and some basics about aquatic animals. Then, we went and fed the Koi fish, which the kids always enjoy. The swan family was hanging out right next to the dock while we were over there.

As we took a bathroom break before snack, Grace asked me to hold her sunglasses and her bubble ring. So, I had a little fun with them. Not often I'm in a silly picture by myself.

We had animal crackers for snack today. I took a picture, cause that's what I do. I believe it was Reed sitting next to me that asked "Did you just take a picture of snack?" I replied, "Yes, I did. I always take lots of pictures." Then Reed added, "Too bad they don't make a camera just for food." I chuckled, "Yes, that would be cool." :-)

The animal presenter brought the bearded dragon and baby alligator today. I learned that the alligator comes from Gatorland in Florida and is sort of on loan. Since the alligator can grow to be about 15 feet long it doesn't make sense to keep it for educational purposes all those years. We need one you can hold in your hands. When this one gets too big, he will be sent back to Gatorland and then a new one will probably come back. They are very well tamed, and since they are opportunistic hunters they do not really sit there with their mouth open constantly hunting for food. They wait for the food to come by them and then snatch it. I touched the alligator today just for fun because I haven't really gotten the chance yet and I'm not afraid of touching anything since I went to Ecuador. haha

Before lunch, we went on our zoo tour. We stopped by the red pandas, first. They aren't really pandas like the panda bear you think of... these animal are more closely related to the raccoon. They actually aren't really big fans of the heat, so I was surprised to see them both lounging outside. They have access to go in- or outside all day long.

After lunch, we painted bags and worked on activity books for the day. There's always a few of those really good kids who want to work on the sentences about things they saw and learned about during the day that need help spelling.

After our part-day campers checked out, we played some games and did some coloring. I actually worked on some Dr. Seuss fish activity books with Kennedy and Devai. Kennedy kept telling me that she really loved my fish. :-)

We also spent some time at the dinosaur exhibit in the afternoon and went back through Africa, as well. It was really warm and sunny this afternoon, so we tried to not stay out in the direct sun all afternoon by breaking it up with some activities indoors.


We had grilled steaks, fried zucchini, rice, and fresh tomatoes for dinner. Yum yum. Then Averee's mom said to me, "You've been living here a week, and I feel like we know nothing about you." So, I talked a little about myself. She and I shared an interest in the world and cultural experiences. She talked about some trips she went on while she was working on a degree in Environmental Science through Simpson College. She traveled to Mongolia for May Term, did some research in Nepal, and went on a holiday in Borneo. I am jealous of all these experiences. One thing college has done to me is opening my eyes and sparking my interest in cultures and life experiences.