Brevard County Zoo

Do you live in a big city with lots of options for a day’s outing? I heard about Brevard County Zoo, but had never been. I have to say, I otter recommend the place!

Click here to watch our adventures from the day!

Brevard County Zoo is in Melbourne, Florida, about a ninety minute drive from Orlando. Before going, we read that people enjoyed being up close to the animals, and this was so true! In this blog, I share some ideas to do before, during and after a visit to Brevard County Zoo, or any other zoo for that matter. I hope you will find at least one idea that can apply to your family. I'll also share some educational insights that are quick and to the point so multitasking moms like me can be a mom-boss (or dad-boss) while making sure your kid is the most well-rounded and smartest on the block!

Before

Here are some ideas to consider before going to the zoo. It can helpful to prepare your child for what to expect while there and you will help expand their knowledge for learning. In the education world, this is called building background knowledge. If your child learns some ideas about what they are going to see at the zoo, it will make the learning more concrete while there. For example, if your child has never seen a giraffe in person, look at pictures, watch a video of it walking or eating, and read some facts. Then, while at the zoo when you see a real giraffe, your child will store more knowledge in the brain bank, especially if you see one up close to feed it!

• My seven-year-old niece did an A-Z Animal Google Slides presentation in her second grade class. In it, she had to pick an animal that started with each letter of the alphabet and research certain facts about each one. She loved doing this project, so much so, that she really wanted to go to the zoo! You too can do this with your child using Google Slides (or Power Point) and not only will you learn together, but this will help connect the technology tool your child is learning in school to home. This project was so informative for my niece that she was reciting facts with me while at the zoo. Here’s a sample template I created to help you with this project.
• Read some books  and watch some videos to help prepare your child for what she might see. There are so many to choose from. I read this one to my one year old and have been since we went because she loves "lift the flap" books - Zoo: Peek-a-Flap Book by Cottage Door Press.
• Take a look at the Brevard County Zoo site and see what they have to offer. Plus, you need to purchase tickets in advance and pick a entry time window.
• We also asked each child, “What animal do you hope to see?” If it was one that wouldn’t be at this zoo, we helped them think of one that would in order to make sure we saw at least one animal they were hoping to see.

During

• There is such power in just being in the moment and interacting with your child. 
• While at the zoo, my seven-year-old niece was sharing some facts she learned from her school presentation. As she spoke, I would follow up with “Where did you learn that?” and “What else do you know?” You can also allow your child to take some pictures of the animals and add them to the presentation created before you went! 
• When we saw the hogs, I asked, “Why do you think they are in the mud?” Each time I could think of why an animal might be in a certain area, I asked my nieces why they thought it might be. I’m definitely no animal expert, and those reading this most likely know much more than I do, so be sure to share that knowledge with your kids! If anything, ask questions to get them thinking and it might create some fun opportunities for research after the visit!

After

Complete fun activities together as a family. When you can extend what you have done during a visit like this, you keep the learning alive and growing. There are lots of ways to make connections to any place you visit with your children. Not only do these connections help further their learning, but it’s a great way for you to continue engaging in what you do together as a family.

• My niece’s second grade class has a class pet “caterpillar”! What great timing for our trip after the zoo and an activity you can do too with your kids at home. Eric Carle’s book, The Hungry Caterpillar comes to mind as a simple book to introduce your toddler to the caterpillar/butterfly life cycle. National Geographic has a plethora of non-fiction animals books. 
• Be sure to add in those pictures and new facts your learned while at the zoo into the presentation you started before you went.
• The classic "See 'n Say" toys by Fisher Price are great for reinforcing animal sounds and pictures.
• Melissa and Doug has a puzzle that's helpful if your child is working on fine motor skills.
• My one year old loves this activity cube by B.Toys.
• Here's an idea for family game night. I bought a variation of Skillmatics Guess in 10 for my seven-year-old niece.

Thanks for reading!  Be sure to follow me on Instagram and @ Michelle_Holly_Recommends and like my Facebook page. 

Bok Tower Gardens

Have you visited a place and thought, “Wow, this is such a different experience through the eyes of my child!” That happened recently for me. My family went to Bok Tower Gardens and had such a great time, all day long. We planned on going for just a few hours, but stayed until closing and upgraded our day ticket costs to annual passes!

Click here to watch our adventures from the day!

Bok Tower Gardens is in Central Florida, about an hour drive from Orlando. There is a lot of interesting history, daily carillon concerts at the Singing Tower, plenty of gardens, a kids area, and lots of shade!

I’ll share some ideas to do before, during and after your visit, as well as three educational insights that are quick and to the point so multitasking moms like me can be a mom-boss (or dad-boss) while making sure your kid is the smartest on the block! 

Before

Read some books about the place you are going. I read the BabyLit version of Secret Garden to my daughter the night before we went. You can ask your child questions, such as what are they hoping to see and do. You can do some research about where you are going. Do an online search or use these photos of a carillon tower, blue heron, cabbage/brussel sprouts and gopher turtle. When you get to Bok Tower Gardens, have a little scavenger hunt with your family using these items and more you’d like to add. 

During 

Ask your child questions about what they are seeing and doing. Talk about how the environment is working with the animals and plants. Ask, “Why do you think the gopher turtle has a sign to not touch it?

Throughout the day at Bok Tower Gardens, we followed my five and seven-year-old nieces as they explored the whole place. While it may seem simple to let our children lead the way, we are actually developing their decision skills, imagination and leadership confidence. 

• Many times, we just lead the way without thinking about it too much. At one point, my niece asked me, “Which way should we go?” I did my best to quote Robert Frost and sound literary and explained the road less traveled. We engaged in a short conversation about what that meant and she chose the path less traveled and said how we might find a place no one else has! All throughout the day we let the girls make decisions on where to go. Even at the end of the day, when we had about fifteen minutes left, we let them decide how to spend the last few minutes. This is a good way to tie in time management - bonus skill!
• Both my nieces loved exploring the kids area and the whole place in general. They kept making up stories for where we were going and we would ask questions to hear about the world they were creating. They were finding paths that led to little sitting areas, and they thought they were the first to discover them. The kids’ garden had climbing logs, a spider web climbing rope, mallet instruments, a fairy garden, an art station, a water pump and a giant snake sand pit. We visited the kids area twice during the day and the girls loved it! My one year old was able to walk around and enjoy much of it too! When we went to the fairy garden area, we engaged in conversations about who might live there and loved hearing the girls’ imagination wander. This outdoor area was a great place to foster imagination!
• Because we let the girls lead the way, they were able to be leaders of our day’s adventure. Developing leadership skills in young children is so helpful for their future years. When our nieces wanted to lead us, we followed. As parents we can be confined by a schedule, so it’s easy to say, “no, we need to go this way”. We had the mindset at the beginning of the day that this was all new for them and we had no set agenda. We want to lead by example and sometimes that means letting our kids lead the way and we end up modeling how to be a good team player. This will not only build confidence in their leadership skills because we listened to their ideas, but it will show that we trust in their choices and can enjoy what they want to do. You can ask a question like, "Which way are we going next?"

After

Complete fun activities together as a family. When you can extend what you have done during a visit like this, you keep the learning alive and growing.

There are lots of ways to make connections to any place you visit with your children. Not only do these connections help further their learning, but it’s a great way for you to continue engaging in what you do together as a family.

Here are some books and toys to connect learning to exploring the outdoors!

• Talk about the day’s adventure! We will ask some questions like: What 2-3 things did you enjoy the most? What are some things you'd like to do again? What is something you learned?
• Grow a fairy garden together! Continue cultivating responsibility with gardening.
• Paint rocks together and put them around your home/yard area.
• Read Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine. I loved this story about Tinkerbell and her friends. It's a trilogy and I linked in the less costly kindle version.
• In the kids' area, there were stacking pieces of logs. Jenga would be a great way to play a game together that requires stacking and balance. How fun would it be to play this game and have a conversation about the day you all had together at Bok Tower Gardens?
• Are you a crafting family? How about making a stepping stone to remember the day?
• Did your kids love the carillon chimes? Try letting them explore bells at home! My daughter has this set and we love ringing them for fun: Set of 8 hand bells.

I hope you get to explore Bok Tower Gardens or any outdoor garden place too!