Bird Camp at the Botanical Gardens

On Wednesday, we took advantage of a lovely opportunity for the oldest three children to attend a half-day Bird Camp at the University of North Carolina Botanical Gardens. Apparently, this was the Botanical Gardens' inaugural venture into hosting kids' camps, and that they will be hosting various half-day and full-day camps in the future. Today was a half-day at our city-county public schools, so this day was chosen to hold this camp to attract all those thousands of children free for the afternoon. However, only five children signed up (three of them ours) and all were homeschoolers! I feel confident their good reputation will spread and soon these camps will be bursting.

We arrived early in order to enjoy a brown bag lunch in the fresh air, nearly 70 degrees and sunny! Then we traipsed around the botanical gardens, which was invigorating fun.

Playing "Pooh Sticks"

"Don't cross that bridge!"

Then it was time to drop off my children (12, 10, and 8-next-week) for four hours of learning about wild birds. Our family birder is Margaret and she brought her bird tote, binoculars, Sibley's book, and her notepad. "I'm sure I'll need to take a lot of notes about what the teacher is saying."

The kind teacher gave my 3- and 6-year-olds one feather each to help them feel included. As homeschoolers, they are unaccustomed to our little tribe breaking up and the big siblings learning from someone else!

I was ready to go home, but the little boys kept saying, "We want to do school! What school are we going to do?" Thomas (3) told me that he wanted to do "BUNCHES of school!"

So, I mustered my energy and walked the three fellas through six glorious rooms of the greenhouse. It was actually a trip back in time for me to be teaching this crew about horticulture, as I tend to teach the older set and these guys are "along for the ride."

The Dinosaur Room--roar!

David (18 months now!) kept pointing and exclaiming, "Whoa!"

A chocolate plant!

This plant blooms once every five years.

When we finally did drive home, I asked Joseph if he had had fun being the oldest while we explored the greenhouses and it was only then that his mouth fell open in surprise, realizing that he was indeed the oldest child present. "Does that mean I'm in charge for the next three hours? I mean, after you, that is?" He had more strut in his step after that and was quite my helper with doors and packages! (And when we got home, he suggested that he babysit his three-year-old brother so that I could "go lay down upstairs, Mama!")

I must admit, it did feel strange (and not in a good way) to be (1) dropping off my children (2) with stranger adults (3) for four whole hours (4) at the great distance of 32 miles away from home. It's taken me all academic year to become accustomed to my big son spending two half days per week at our church, with all the parents and kids I've known well for years only five miles down the road!

Chris retrieved the kiddos for me at rush hour, walked around the gardens with them and some friends, and brought the crew home. They had enjoyed making a field guide about birds, going on a bird walk and noting their sightings in the guide, dissecting an owl pellet, making a bird hanging mobile, and more that I can't even remember. The reviews of the day were "great!" and "amazingly fun!" and "thank you, Mama!"