If We Could Talk to the Animals-Grunt and Squeak and Squawk With the Animals

While I am staying home with my boys this summer (one of the many perks of being a teacher), I decided to take them somewhere "big" each Friday. Last Friday we went to the zoo. Now, I had my reservations because most of my memories of the Dallas Zoo involved hot, empty concrete cells. Even last summer before my second child was born, I took my son all the way out to the Ft. Worth Zoo because I wanted him to have good memories and not the depressing images I always conjured up. However, having to pack up and load two children into a car and then getting everyone out and situated in strollers with backpacks, etc. was exhausting enough. I didn't want to make a trip an hour longer (for there and back) than it needed to be. Since I heard that the Dallas Zoo had really come around, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The Dallas Zoo superseded all of my expectations.

It is no longer the zoo of my youth. It is clean. It is cheerful. It is well organized. It is full of friendly employees. It serves a delicious variety of foods in the main eatery. The imprisonment of animals is long gone. All the habitats are clean and clearly well cared for. The animals were even out to say hello to all the visitors. Had we been able to stay longer, we could have seen many shows where keepers come out to either showcase an animal or talk about one. And get this-THERE'S A DALLAS ZOO APP! It puts all the information I need right in my hand. My favorite part is that the GPS can place me anywhere on the zoo map. We never got lost! I was able to set a plan for which animals we absolutely had to see first. Trust me, that is incredibly important when making sure lunch is on time and trying to beat nap time before both children turn into cranky monsters.

By far the Wilds of Africa: Giants of the Savanna far surpassed everything else in my opinion. It was beautiful! They had elephants and giraffes and gazelle and zebras all in an open area modeled after...well...the African Savanna. Right smack dab in the center (sort of-it is outside the habitat but in the middle-just go and see for yourself) is a rest area with shade and misters. We were able to sit and relax a bit once it started to get pretty hot and just watch the animals behave naturally. It was beyond awesome!

Because I am a big believer that pictures can often speak louder than words, here are some photos of our visit:

It's just a sign. I came to see animals.

Children's Zoo was a fun place to play around for a bit.

Get back in that nest! I'm not ready to let you fly off yet.

If I stay perfectly still, you won't be able to see me.

Such a big boy riding Solomon the Camel all by himself.

I said 'no' to riding the real crocodile, so this had to do.

Giving Where's Waldo a run for his money.

Absolutely beautiful!

My son excitedly took this photo. He loved being so close to the giraffes. They are, after all, reticulated.

A quick mommy/children shot before leaving. Everyone having fun.

I know it was a successful day when this is what was in the back seat of my car upon returning home:

Don't let the shade fool you. Both boys were O-U-T.

I loved it! I am trying to find a way to squeeze in one more visit before it gets too hot for humans let alone animals. Ha ha.

Best Way to End the School Year

As the day ends for many of my teacher friends, I want to share this to remind everyone that regardless of irritating, state-mandated testing, we (teachers) have worth and matter to someone:

It is no secret that 3A was my most challenging class this year. If a kid could be labeled delinquent at something, s/he was probably in this class. That happens every blue moon. All the trouble kids land in the same class period in order to test one's sanity as a teacher. (In fairness, it may be the Cosmos balancing out the fact that six-ish years ago I had the BEST 3A class EVER. Those students know EXACTLY who they are and how much that class rocked.)

I tried with this class. There was positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and maybe even some pleading. Except for a select few, most of the class couldn't have cared less about the effort they put in or what their final averages were. The entire class was never whole because there was always 3-4 kids in alternative placement. I couldn't even celebrate the fact that 3A would be smaller on exam day since exempt students don't have to come to class because 16 of the 21 students WEREN'T EXEMPT! All this to say, I was not thrilled that my absolute last class of the 2012-2013 school year would be 3A.

Then Zak turned in his final exam essay.

Zak has a lot going on for a 16-year-old. Actually, two of my co-workers were a major support system for him and worked with me to help keep him focused. There was even a day when he asked me to read a letter his step-father sent Zak from jail because Zak didn't know how to read cursive handwriting. Due to various issues, there are days Zak comes in with a little more attitude than he probably should. Today was one of those days. He didn't bring anything to write with and didn't want to borrow a pencil for a shoe (hey, it's the only way I get my supplies back). When I asked him if he really wanted the zero for the exam because he didn't want to give me a shoe as collateral, he just shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "whatever." I was very disappointed in him because I felt he had come a long way this year. Finally, he managed to secure a pencil from a classmate and wrote this:

Prompt: Reflect on everything we've read, discussed, written about, and/or argued this year. Choose one thing and write about how it has impacted your heroic journey.

Yes, I cried. I still do when I reread this. I don't even care if people want to judge the poor conventions of his essay because 1) it was in a timed situation and 2) this young man wouldn't even string together a proper sentence at the beginning of the year let alone multiple paragraphs.

I also distinctly remember the Emmitt Smith incident because Zak was having a REALLY bad day which meant chaos for my class since he expressed his anger/frustration by disrupting everyone else. I got a note card out and wrote his name in a really cool font on one side and this on the other: "For me, winning isn't something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream." Honestly, Zak was in such a bad funk that day, I figured he threw it away and wrote me off as a stupid teacher. I was wrong.

I honestly had given up the notion that ANYTHING I did mattered to my 3A. This, fortunately, reminded me that sometimes all I need to reach is one person.

Happy summer to all my teacher friends! I promise you all had a Zak this year even if you never knew it!