Family Time Saturday

On Saturdays, when I'm not teaching, we like to get out and explore as a family.  One thing my boys love is a trip to one of the local zoos.  I like that we get out in the beautiful weather, get lots of moving our bodies in, and learn something in the process.  I also love that we get to enhance the learning with our signs!

If you're new to signing with your family, a planned trip to the museum or the zoo can allow you to prepare a bit ahead of time. Look up some of the signs for animals or exhibits you think your child will enjoy.  Remind yourself of the variety of general signs you know - you always have A sign available, even if it's not THE sign you'd really prefer to use.

Once you're more experienced and feeling a bit more confident, be creative. You might be surprised at the variety of signs you can use.  On our trip to the zoo, we didn't just use signs for animal names (though we did use lots of those!).  We saw SNAKES, FROGS, FISH, BEARS, LIONS, TIGERS, BUGS, PENGUINS, GOATS, SHEEP, and so much more! We also talked about what we saw EATING, and SLEEPING, a variety of WATER (puddles, drinking fountains, animals drinking, touch tank, etc.), PLAY time (for us and for the animals),WAITING, BABIES, MAMAS, DIGGING.

After a great morning, and lots and lots of walking, both boys fell asleep in their car seats - almost before we'd left the parking lot.  We took a round-about way home through part of a local park.  Just as we turned back onto the main road, everyone woke up.  Being that it was a beautiful afternoon - one of the first this spring - so we decided on a spontaneous extra stop.

We all enjoyed skipping rocks.   seeing how big of a splash we could make with some rocks, searching for WORMS, and just enjoying the sun.  As the mama, I used the sign DRY lots of times - as in keep your shoes DRY, don't walk in the stream! (Even still, one boy had to go to day care the next day with damp sneakers.  Luckily they change into "inside shoes" as soon as they get there!)

After all that fun, we needed a snack, so we stopped at a custard stand on the way home for a special treat.