Another Zoo Field Trip

The zoo is always a popular field trip with little ones, so off we went again!  The Anchorage zoo is tiny, but I just love it!

 

Ben and the two boys I was in charge of at the zoo.

Our good friend the polar bear

Checking out the mountain goat.  The little boy between Ben and Eli is Ben's best friend Tyler.

Public Lands Field Trip

Ben's Kindergarten class took a field trip to the Public Lands Building.  It is a fun field trip that I had done once before with William.  The kids get to watch a short movie about animals in Alaska and then do a scavenger hunt through the animal displays. 

 

Ben's Zoo Field Trip

Ben's first school field trip was to the zoo.  The zoo was of course covered in snow, but it was still fun.  One of the zoo keepers took us behind a gate to get up close to the polar bears.  The female polar bear was right up next bars and the path we were on.  Oh, and did I mention that we left the zoo at about 11:45 and the blizzard warning went into affect at 1:00?

A zoo employee reading the kids a story before we wen to see the animals.



This is the female polar bear.  We were seriously just feet away from her!

Ben on our way out of the zoo.  He brought his camera, but was sad when the extreme cold killed the batteries in it.



Project 52 - Week 41

Week 41 ~ October 9-15

Ben's preschool had a visit from the local firemen this week!

Everyone got to touch him with all his gear on, so they wouldn't think he was scary.

Showing us how high the ladder goes.

William's school was out that day, so all the older siblings were invited to come too!

Ben's Preschool class!

Project 52 - Week 19

Week 19 ~ May 8-14

William had a field trip to the zoo this week. I got to chaperon and bring the two littler guys along with me. It was a lot of fun. Since the weather has been cold, we had not had a chance to visit the zoo until now. The whole thing is pretty tiny and most of the animal are native to Alaska, but it was a nice. Almost every animal was out where we could see it too. It is always disappointing to walk up to an enclosure and not be able to find the animal, so we enjoyed this visit. Many of the parents in Will's class were able to come, so the kids were split up into very small groups. I only had to keep track of William and a little boy named Sawyer.

One of the native animals ... a sleepy polar bear. His enclosure was neat. It is made so that when he is in the water you can see him swimming underneath.

A moose. Laying down, you can't tell just how big these guys are.

Tigers. One of the non-native animals.

Will looking at the tigers.

A monkey. (Just kidding! Doesn't he look sweet here?)

Brown bear.

And for some reason this was my favorite for the trip. I didn't know that the two humped kind live in a climate with very cold winters.

Ben and Sawyer walking out. They became good little buddies!

10 on the 10th ~ May (Late Edition)

1. James is taking master's classes online to finish his master's degree. This is translating into work for both of us, as I am the family secretary.

2. We have officially become A's fans. Knik Little League Tee Ball A's that is. It is the team William is on and games started on Saturday!



3. Today the two younger boys and I got to go on William's field trip to the Alaska Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the first time we have been. It is quite small, but we enjoyed it anyway. Most of the animals are native to Alaska, except for a few tigers and a Bactrian Camel (that is the kind with two humps. Sally the camel has two humps, Sally the camel has .... ok now that song s stuck in my head). The camel was my favorite because I have never seen a two humped camel before. I learned that they grow a tick winter coat, so they are a good fit for a zoo in Alaska. I had to laugh that they had two ravens on display since they can be seen in every parking lot in town.



4. Speaking of the ravens (or Birdzillas as I call them), the seagulls have returned for summer and all the ravens seem to have disappeared. Their enormous size, mean looking eyes, and the fact that they disappear in the summer makes them one scary bird to me! I have however learned that they are an extremely intelligent bird and very hard to capture.

5. Eli finally has teeth! The two middle ones on the bottom are almost fully in and are very cute. I don't see anymore coming anytime soon though.

6. The days are certainly getting long! The sun came up at 5:26 am today and will set at 10:28 pm. That is 17 hours and 2 minutes of light.

7. Tick (This is Ben's nickname for those who don't know) says the funniest things. Lately, it has been the way he says Chuck-E-Cheesus and per-pelican (for his stuffed animal pelican) that has us laughing.

8. School will be out next week for Will. We will see how I manage with three active boys at home all day long!

9. Spring is here! We are starting to see green buds on the trees. I can't wait to see what it looks like around here when spring s in full bloom.

10. Yes, I know this is a day late. We were very busy yesterday and when I started working on this last night, the wireless internet on the laptop went out so I gave up for the night. I would have made it 11 on the 11th, but as you can see I came up a little short on things to write about. :)

Project 52 - Week 14

Week 14 (April 3-9)

On Wednesday the 6th, Will had a field trip to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center in Anchorage. I got to help chaperon and bring Ben and Eli. It was a great time! We watched a movie about animals in Alaska and then did a small scavenger hunt looking for each of the animals inside the building. William even got called up to the front to help with the park ranger's presentation! We were supposed to take a walking tour of the public lands downtown as well, but that was cancelled due to the possibility of it snowing that day. I wish they hadn't cancelled that part since it turned out to be a beautiful day! We will have to see if they do the same tour during the summer and go as a family.

William with his props.

Ben sitting with the big kids.

The Park Ranger

Scavenger Hunt