Thankful Thursdays 12-13-12 Fieldtrips!

Last week's thankful thing was: Fieldtrips! After our fun exploits on 12-12-12, we couldn't resist another fieldttrip, so on Thursday 12-13-12 we went with my Mom (Grammy Mary) to the Indianapolis Zoo. 

Now, don't get me wrong, we love the lights at the zoo for "Christmas at the Zoo," but we really wanted to see the animals too, so after lunch, we headed to the zoo. We did stay until the lights were bright (after all, that's only about 5pm these days,) but by then we were getting hungry, and a little tired.

The girls and I took turns with the camera, and we got several great shots. I'll include a few below for you to see. Why fieldtrips? Lots of reasons. The first one probably being that--- they are fun!...followed closely by --- they can be educational without being boring. No matter how many books you see of giraffes, lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) it's just not the same as seeing them in real life. Questions abound on fieldtrips, and if you don't know the answers, you can usually find a helpful staff person to answer them for you. 

During our many, many trips to the zoo, I've heard questions like: "Mama, why are there 2 fences around the lions?", "How do you spell anemone?", "Can we get a pet starfish?","Why don't the giraffes match, why are their tongues blue...why do they like sweet potatoes???"

It really doesn't matter if your children are 2, 12, or 20, they have questions about the world around them. They like to explore (at least ours do!) and they want a chance to learn through doing. So the next time you're "unplanning" a day, why not try a field trip? The zoo, the fire station, the donut shop, the dry cleaners, the tire store...the possibilities are endless! Enjoy a fieldtrip with your family, you'll be glad you did!

Silly Giraffes!

The yoga-practicing flamingo

The mother elephant nudged her baby out just for my picture, wasn't that nice of her?

Arlene said "it would be nice if the cheetah would lay on top of the rock so we could get a picture." Nice of him to oblige, hope standing on the rock is ok --LOL!

Emily's picture of the tiger...pacing

Arlene's picture of the "weird" starfish

Arlene's pic of the bored, but warm, polar bear, I think he was waiting for his dinner!

Merry Christmas!