Browsing the blog archives for April, 2011

Our Short Trip to the Columbus Zoo

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15 Apr, 2011
Photos

I wanted to do something outside this morning with Katherine.  According to the weather reports, we are going to get quite a bit of rain for the next week or so.  Plus, since she’s still recovering from a stomach bug, I wanted to keep her away from play areas and exposure to other children.  We went to the Columbus Zoo for a couple of hours.  Here are the highlights of our quick trip.

1. Getting to the zoo early pays off.

We arrived just a few minutes after the zoo opened at 9 a.m.  Not only did we get rock star parking, but we had a head start on the hundreds of kids who later came on their school field trips.

2. Pack an extra outfit.

As I mentioned, Katherine is recovering from a stomach bug.  I found out once we arrived that she needed a change of clothes.  Thankfully, the zoo gift shop carries clothes in toddler sizes, so we did not have to go home and make it an even shorter trip.  It was a good reminder to have an extra outfit with us on our outings, even if it just stays in the car.

3. Keep the camera handy.

I got some great video of timber wolves, a brown bear, and the manatees.  Because I did not have the video camera handy at all times, I missed most of a confrontation between the adult male lion and two of the lionesses.  We had just viewed the lions and walked down the ramp when we heard quite a commotion – extremely loud roaring and growling.  We quickly returned to see what was going on, and they finished most of their quarrel while I was fishing my iPhone out of my pocket, turning it on and getting the camera app going.  I caught the tail end of their confrontation, and once I get my short video uploaded to smugmug, I’ll post a link.

I only took a couple of pictures at the zoo.  I was focused more on getting video.

Slightly blurry photo of the fish in the aquarium

Katherine gets excited to see the fish in the aquariums at Jack’s and PetSmart.  Imagine how intrigued she was with the large fish in the aquarium at the zoo.

Timberwolf roaming in the sunshine

http://rebeccajacobs.com/2011/04/our-short-trip-to-the-columbus-zoo/

The Easter Bunny

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14 Apr, 2011
Uncategorized

After Katherine’s reaction to Santa Claus, I was curious to see how she would respond to the Easter Bunny.  She was eager to get near him and check him out, and she willingly sat on his lap.  What she would not do, however, was smile no matter how hard the photographer tried.  At least she wasn’t bawling like she did with Santa!

Katherine's first visit with the Easter Bunny

http://rebeccajacobs.com/2011/04/the-easter-bunny/

Fourth Grade Thank You Notes

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13 Apr, 2011
Children, Legal

Last month, I participated in a local elementary school’s annual career day.  As in years past, I requested the fourth graders.  Fourth graders are fun because they articulate interesting viewpoints with a refreshingly child-like enthusiasm.

The toughest part is competing against the fireman with the truck, the paramedic, and the vet with the dog.  This year I even saw someone from the bomb squad in the halls!  (I assume he was there because of career day.)  To liven up my 20-minute presentation on the law, I engage the students in a quick mock trial.  I give them a scenario and pick kids to play Plaintiff, Defendant, Lawyers, Judge and Bailiff.  The rest of the class is the jury.  I tell each lawyer to say a couple of things to try to convince the jury that his/her client should win, and then the jury votes for the winner.  The remaining few minutes are spent answering questions about being a lawyer.

As in past years, I received thank you notes from the students.  I love the notes!  Reading them has been a high point of my week.  Here are a few snippets (edited for spelling).

“It was so fun playing the plaintiff.  I might be a lawyer when I grow up.”

“I am not being a lawyer.  They are boring job to do.  Because you go to the court house every once and a while.”

“You know what I want to be is a movie star, because I would love to meet Justin Beiber because he can sing and he is really cute.”

“What I want to be when grow up is a spy then a movie star.  The reason I want to be a spy is because I want to help the world.  The other reason is because the secret weapons.”

And my favorite:  “What I wanna be when I grow up is a brain surgeon.  Why?  Because I think it will be interesting and specially learning about my brain maybe I will give you some facts about your brain.  I think you would like to hear some facts about your brain.”

http://rebeccajacobs.com/2011/04/fourth-grade-thank-you-notes/