Barbie's Babies: Pint Sized Planeteers

In my search to find fun daytime activities for me to do with Trent and Claire I came across a program called Pint Sized Planeteers at the Brandywine Zoo. Every other Tuesday kids ranging from 18 months-6years gather with their caregiver at the Education Building next to the brandywine zoo. The kids get name tags and sit in a circle as the instructor(s) come up with fun ways to teach the children about animals. Each Tuesday they chose a different color to focus on. The first time we went (September 28th) the color was BLUE. We were a little late (construction at the entrance) so we missed the talk about Macaws, and possibly other blue animals. Fortunately for us, we didn't miss the Blue-Tongued Skink lesson. They began by reading a story called "Little Skinks Tail". In the story, the skink lost his tail (as many lizards often do) and went off to search for a new one. He came across a squirrel tail, an owl tail, a bunny tail, etc. After the story, they actually brought out a cage containing a skink! The main instructor held the skink and let each kid see it up close. True to it's name, it did have a blue tongue. It's safe to say that was the coolest part of the program - getting to see an animal up close and personal that we otherwise would only see in a cage....if that. My least favorite part of the program came next - craft time. I'm all about crafts, and the craft they chose went hand-in-hand with the book they just read, which I thought was a fantastic idea, but Trent's not into crafts yet (hence, my dislike). The kids had to color a log and a skink, then decide which tail they wanted their paper-skink to have. Some chose a bunny tail (a cotton ball), others chose a skink tail (a paper skink tail), but we (I) chose an owl tail (a feather). In other words: I had to color a log and a skink, glue the body parts and log to a piece of paper, keep Trent sitting in his chair, get him to stop eating the glue stick and stop taking the other child's glue stick, all while leaning over a table with Claire strapped to my chest. If Trent was a little older we would have had a splendid experience, I'm sure, but as it stands, He's still a little young. Nonetheless, I have his first craft project now hanging on my refrigerator - the first of many craft projects to come!! Once the crafts were complete, we headed back to the floor for an overview of blue animals that were discussed, then we walked across the street to the zoo. The program cost $8 per child ($6 if you're a member) and admission into the zoo afterward was included. We pretty much went straight to the back of the zoo to the Macaw's. I guess those are the only blue animals they have on the premises. What beautiful birds the Macaws are! We were then free to roam around the zoo at our leisure. Trent, Claire and I took our time walking back to our car, while stopping here and there to check out an animal or two.

I didn't take any pictures during the program, but I did manage to steel a few of Trent playing in the parking lot afterward. At one point he stuck his entire foot in a puddle. It was a classic Fall day, which made for some cute photos.