little pets

the early childhood pta sponsored a "tour" of petco this morning, which emma and i attended.

for the most part, it was an opportunity to touch and feel some of the animals they have at the store.

we started off with some soft, furry guys: cats, a chincilla (which we learned cannot get wet), and guinea pigs. the cats got to roam around among the kids. one in particular was actually very good with the kids, patient and quite mellow. i would even consider taking him home (this is a HUGE compliment coming from one who does not care for cats). the chincilla was of course very soft, but was seemed rather overwhelmed with all the kids. so the little guy didn't stay out for too long. and guinea pigs...not a personal fan, but emma liked them.

next on the list were the reptiles: a tortoise (so cute...i used to have a pet tortoise when i was in middle school named marcus), and 2 baby ball pythons. the ball pythons were quite interesting, because when the gal brought them over they just looked like little balls in her hands. emma was not into touching the snakes at all. i admit, i'm also squeamish when it comes to snakes, but these guys were little (though once full grown they can get up to 5 ft. in length...yikes).

lastly was a little green parakeet. he actually did great with the kids and liked to climb on their arms and shoulders. the cats in their cages immediately focused their attention on the little bird when the gal brought him out.

we then wandered around the store to look at the fish, and picked up a couple of treats and a new brush for blue.

sorry no photos. i brought my camera, but i think i got pretty engrossed in the touch and feel experience that i forgot to take it out. i love experiences where kids have some hands-on learning opportunities, and there are so many out there (even beyond the pet store). many don't cost a thing, and can even be done in your own home. especially with young children, there's always a learning opportunity in even everyday experiences.