Day 88 - In With The Animals.

Being a home educator is the best job that I have ever had. I love being right there watching my children as they learn. I adore the moments when a new fact has been absorbed and their faces light up with the shear joy of knowing something new about the world. It is a privilege.

Today I witnessed a couple of these magnificent moments as my children visited a local farm centre and discovered new things about the animals.

I organised the activity a few weeks ago and was delighted that so many people came along today. In total there were ten children which was the perfect amount to ensure that each child had a chance to handle the animals.

We met the park warden who took time to talk to each child before starting our visit. The warden was a fellow home educator which was amazing. He really understood the children and as a consequence they all found him very easy to talk too. 

We began by visiting the Alpaca. The children found out all about the animals and then fed them  leaves. Theo was very excited and I saw one of those moments when he learnt why Alpaca spit and how they like to be treated. Both of the boys loved feeding them as did all the other children.

On our way to the other animals one of the children was very excited to see a wild rabbit bobbing around in the long grass. He had no problem sharing his discovery with the group which was lovely.

The warden let all the children into the rabbit pen where they fed the rabbits. Theo was very interested to learn about their diet and asked me more about this later at home. They also fed the guinea pigs. Theo found out that rabbits will not eat cauliflower where as guinea pigs will. He found this curious and has vowed to find out why this is he case. Tristan absolutely loved the rabbits. He has always loved rabbits and this was a wonderful experience for him.

 

The children then went into the chicken, duck and peahen enclosure. They checked for eggs and talked about the differences between peacocks and peahens. Theo was pleased that he already knew this information. Tristan found the chickens very amusing.

The group fed carrots to the piglets next. All the children were very taken with the cute little piglets.

Once the farm visit ended we took the children to the play area. They had lots of fun and stayed for a couple of hours. There were three over eight year olds in the group and they went off together to play on the bigger equipment in the play area. 

We had a picnic together but had to pack up when the weather changed and it started to rain. A few families left. Those remaining went to feed the ducks at the lake and also have a drink in the cafe. Tristan sat with his two friends and played cars. Theo played outside with one of his friends. To bring the day to an end on a very happy note they all had ice creams. 

It was a very successful day. The boys have made some very good friends recently. Theo has been emailing one of the children he met last week at the picnic. We have been invited to his other friends house next week to play. We have no concerns about socialising at all. 

Back at home the boys had a hot bath to remove all the ground in mud whilst I made a hearty dinner for them. 

We spent the evening playing games and later reading together in their bedroom.

Tomorrow will be spent working at home. We are meeting up with one of Tristan's friends in the late afternoon which will be lovely. All the boys will be icing cupcakes and eating them no doubt.

Prudence Clarke

09.09.2013