Tadpole Troopers and Safari School

The boys and I have had a busy week and it's not even over yet! On Saturday, we went back to the Tadpole Troopers class at the Arboretum. You may remember that Will went to these classes last year. He was not a fan, at first, but they eventually grew on him. This year, Will only wanted to go if Henry could come along, so now that Henry is three, the boys are all signed up. Our first class was all about fish. We read books, learned the names of all seven fins, did a fish craft, and even got to go fishing for mosquito fish! They were so excited to carry their net down the paths and try their luck at the pond, but they didn't catch any fish. Next time we're going fishing with Jaime. He's already giving me tips on how to catch mosquito fish. (Apparently vigorously swishing 8 nets in the pond at the same time is not how to do it!)Yesterday we went to the zoo for Safari School. We got their early and explored a bit. We spent a lot of time inside because it was COLD out and I didn't dress us appropriately at all! The boys loved this tunnel in the Natural Encounters exhibit. We even counted the fish fins and did our best to remember all their names. Safari School was all about anteaters this week. The boys learned about anteaters and then made an anteater craft. They also got to pretend they were anteaters by using blowouts as tongues and picking up bug stickers. The boys LOVED this. Then we got to meet an anteater! This girl is not normally on display, but she made a special appearance at Safari School! The zookeeper fed her yogurt and pureed pears. Apparently this anteater doesn't actually eat ants. She has a sensitive tummy and eats a special supplement. Who knew? I love that my boys are finally the right ages to enjoy all these fun activities together!