3 Summertime Zoo Essentials

My kids just love the zoo! In fact, where we live, the zoo is like the summer hangout place for moms with kids. There’s animals, food, a splash pad, and an indoor play area for if the weather is bad. What more could you want?

Of course, when we head out to the zoo there’s 3 things I just can’t be without!

1. Little Red Wagon – This is definitely the best Summer purchase I’ve ever made. It’s also absolutely necessary for all the walking we do at the zoo. My kids are old enough to climb in and out as they want and the canopy gives them a little extra shade on sunny days – it also serves as a backup umbrella for surprise rain showers.

My only complaint with this wagon, it doesn’t have any sort of lock for the wheels. I just remember to turn the front wheels sideways when I’m parking it somewhere, so it doesn’t roll away on me.

I got this a couple of years ago and we’re still loving it. There’s room for 2 kids, our lunchbox, a small diaper bag, and a few towels. Talk about convenient!

2. Bento Boxes – I ordered these last year for school lunches and we’ve used them for that, trips to the zoo, and any other event that requires a picnic. They’re so convenient! Everyone knows which color is theirs so there’s no fighting over who gets what. And since I know who gets which color it’s easy for me to customize lunches. Best of all, I can easily fit all of them in my little portable cooler!

I don’t know about your zoo, but my zoo has really terrible concessions that are way overpriced. So everyone brings their own lunch. These little bento boxes have been a lifesaver!

3. Bobble Water Bottle – You just can’t go to the zoo all day without water. And Bobble has so many different lid colors so no one fights over which one is theirs. Have you noticed a theme? Yes, we color code practically EVERYTHING in my house. Then we always know who owns what. Plus, with the filter in, even if we’re just grabbing water from the water fountain, I know our water is well filtered.

 

So, tell me, do your kids love the zoo? What’s something you can’t go to the zoo without?

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B is for Books

If you’re looking for curriculum advice, check out my 4 favorite curriculums. Here, I’m going to share some of my favorite kids books.

I love books. I love a good fiction. Right now I’m working on The Water Witch by James Fenmore Cooper. (which is free on Kindle right now). I don’t have a ton of time for reading these days, but I still manage to read a fun book now and then. It’s a great way for me to escape, relax, and grab a few minutes of “me time”.

Reading is something I want my children to enjoy as well so I try to collect my favorite childhood books and find some new ones for them as well.

51cWgYwwKNL._SX396_BO1,204,203,200_Little House on the Prairie

This is a classic. I read and re-read this entire set many many times as a child. This is next on my list of books to buy my 2nd grader. I can’t wait to see what she thinks of them!

I never can decide if Little House in the Big Woods or Farmer Boy is my favorite. Maybe I’ll have to read them again!

 

612DdPHZGCL._SX395_BO1,204,203,200_Finley Flowers

I just discovered this set. There’s four books in this series and a craft book. They’re super cute and all about a little girl who loves to bake. My 2nd grader loves these – they’re a 3rd to 5th grade reading level so right at the upper edge of her reading ability. Perfect for her to enjoy while learning some new words!

 

51VpdeMukDL._SY345_BO1,204,203,200_A Series of Unfortunate Events

There’s 13 books in this series. The author truly thought of everything! I love this series. It’s fun to read because it’s just funny. There’s no way 3 kids end up in all of these situations. And the author loves to use and define rarely used words like Ersatz in Ersatz Elevator.  These books are fun to read and great for improving vocabulary.

 

41S6NRoXYvL._SX279_BO1,204,203,200_Grandma’s Attic

This is a book of short stories. Perfect for a bedtime stories. These stores are fun, funny, and have a good morale at the end. Themes like “Pride comes before a fall”, and “beauty is as beauty does”. These stories are fun to read as a family and after you’ve read all these in this book. There’s a whole bunch of other Grandma’s Attic books available.

 

61xA9sZttmL._SX469_BO1,204,203,200_Llama Llama

It all started with Llama Llama Red Pajama. After we read this one, we were hooked! This is a favorite with my 2yr old and since the older kids still love it he gets it read to him as often as he wants. There’s a whole set of Llama Llama books and we love every one of them.

Tell me in the comments, what’s your favorite children’s book?

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