Dear Reader,
I have been wanting to take the girls to the zoo for a while now and just never got around to it, but since our zoo closes for the season in the middle of the month, I decided we had better go before we have to wait until the next year. I have always felt like there is something magical about toddlers and the zoo. There is something so charming about preschoolers absorbing the experience. Animals are such a novelty at that stage, it’d be a shame not to take them to see some.
I know that normally, it’s better to go see animals first thing in the morning, but we didn’t make it there until mid-afternoon. We had one of those spin-your-wheels kinds of days that we just couldn’t get going! Honestly, though, I felt like that was the best time to go! Sure, in the summertime, I can see the benefit of morning, but in the fall, I think the animals were cool enough they weren’t conserving energy and hanging out in the shade. They were all pretty active. We got there right before the lions were anticipating an afternoon meal. They were pacing by the gate. Which was right by a great vantage point, so we spent a long time watching them. The pelicans are usually in the middle of the pond when we come, but this time, they were hanging out by the bank, right next to the trail! They’re *much* bigger in person than I anticipated. They were much taller than our kiddos – almost as tall as me!
Furthermore, in the morning we would have been racing naptimes. But mid-afternoon, our littles were fully rested from their mid-day nap, and not “starving,” having just had a snack (and lunch before naptime), and not needing more food until dinnertime.
Another perk to going in the fall that I never realized before: not only is it not super hot in mid-afternoon, it’s not super crowded either. Although we passed other families, and even had to wait at some popular exhibits (with Covid, we wanted to give plenty of space between us and everyone else), for the most part, we had each animal viewing area to ourselves. I could definitely get used to that!
Toddlers really eat up animal sounds. They roar when we roar at them. they’re currently obsessed wit howling because a book we read frequently has a coyote in it and we make the sound, so they do, and they love that first little line of communication. Plus the animals in the zoo are new to them! the only giraffes they’ve seen are in books. Books are great, but a real animal in front of them is a totally different experience. The same is true for preschoolers, though! Animal sounds haven’t quite lost their charm, but more importantly, they see an animal move and act and react. It is right there in front of them! And it creates questions and conversations, and expands their understanding in a way a show or a book couldn’t capture.
I cant wait to go back next season!
