School was like a zoo today...

We usually go to the Copenhagen Zoo about once a week. Having the chance to visit so often is wonderful because it means we can really take the time to get to know the animals at a slower pace, rather than just rushing through to see them all in one day. Its an amazing home school resource and I don't see anyone else using this here. (Please tell me about how you use your zoo!)

Yesterdays visit we spent in the tropical area, which is an entire building that is open air and set up to give you and the animals a feeling of walking in a rain forest. There is no cage or glass between you and the critter (expect the alligators), so if you sit still and quiet you are often approached by large jungle fowl and sloths.

Saule testing out her butterfly wings in butterfly room. We did a study on silk production when she got these.

There were very few people at the zoo yesterday, so we were able to spread out our picnic blanket, take off all our layers of clothes, and put on our butterfly wings. I did some yoga. Ursa (almost 9 months) enjoyed having the freedom to crawl/cruise around where she liked, touch some plants and  the waterfall.  We had lunch, read books, took a nap, and did some worksheets.  But mostly we enjoyed being in the nature, and being able to sit long enough and quiet enough to really absorb it. We

These are the books we brought with us- all of them are rainforest themed.

We read this one "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle      
to the sloths that were sitting just above us. Ursa had a little nap.

Kalvebod Faelled Vestamager

Give a kid a fish and you entertain him for a day; teach a kid to fish and you entertain him for a lifetime.

Imagine- just outside the hustle and bustle of the downtown wide open spaces, apple orchards, and tiny ponds. There is a place loaning (for free) nets and buckets and laminated ID pages filled with pictures of pond critters. The kids are going wild. Saule and I took off our shoes pulled up our pants, and waded in in search of water bugs, snails, frogs, and fish. The excitement in the kids eyes, the way they chased each other around the banks, got muddy, and shared their catch with us was fantastic! It reminded me of when I was little and used to play for hours in our pond in the yard. How much fun we had. 

That's what is happening today, and everyday at Kalvebod Faelled Vestamager. This wonderful park is a huge expanse of open space just a short peddle from the airport and the downtown. Fields, orchards, and ponds are left in their most natural, sometimes overgrown state leaving room for lots of waterfowl, birds, deer, and other animals. This is a birding hot spot, complete with guides, blinds, and other friendly birders!

There is a nature center "Naturcenter Vestamager" which has a fantastic array of exhibits about Danish wildlife and ecology, a natural playground built from tree limbs, a child size stork nest up a ladder, a chicken coup complete with about 2 dozen hens and chicks.  There is also a bee hive with a glass viewing window, a "fox den" complete with props, rooms filled with stuffed animals (real ones), and all of this is housed in the middle of an enormous field in a lovely open glass sided building. There is a scope set up with bird books nearby. 

The park is huge and flat and stretches as far as you can see. There is no way we could explore it all in just one day. So at Saule's request we are going back tomorrow.