E is for Eliza and Eggs

As I mentioned in the last entry, Eliza had a field trip just before spring break. We got to go to Duke Gardens for a little educational program, have a picnic and do an egg hunt. Despite pouring down rain the day before, we ended up with decent weather and even all that soggy. Eliza and I both had a great time. I took my new lens to practice with and took lots of pictures - I've tried to stick to ones that have E in them for the blog, though sometimes that means they aren't the best picture to show what's going on. 

I loved the opportunity to watch Eliza with her classmates and see a little bit of how she is away from me. She was always up there at the front of the line as we moved from place to place, listening to whoever was talking and being fully engaged. We started out in a classroom in the welcome center where the educators (one of whom was my fourth grade teacher!) talked to the kids about butterflies and eggs and the like. 

E raising her hand to answer a question - she was eager to participate, even though sometimes she wasn't sure what to say

After the classroom part, we walked down to the native plants area. At the entrance, the educators demonstrated bird calls (with toy birds) and the kids were handed their binoculars they had made.  We then walked (somewhat) quietly up to the bird viewing area to watch for birds. The kids were actually pretty into it, though I'm not sure most of them really saw any birds!

must look thru binoculars IMMEDIATELY!

see any birds?

Then we headed down to the butterfly garden only to find that the butterfly garden was woefully behind in growing thanks to all the cold weather we've had. So no butterflies were seen but the kids acted out the lifecycle of the butterfly. 

no butterflies to be spotted

.... a little egg lay on a leaf....

skipping the hungry caterpillar we get to the chrysallis - that hangs!

stretch out your wings, you are a beautiful butterfly!

a beautiful tree nearby

After pretending to be a butterfly, it was time to feed the ducks! Lots of ducks were fed, no one fell in, and no one made a big issue about the very dead-looking turtle nearby in the mud.  Maybe he was just resting...

After the ducks were fed, it was time to feed the kids! We had a lovely picnic near the waterlily pond behind the welcome center. Nice dry stones to sit on and yummy food to munch on!

While the kids ate, the teachers hid eggs just down the hill. When everyone was done eating, the kids lined up and then they were off! They got to find one egg at a time, then bring it back to the basket. There was A LOT of energy in that area of the garden!

ready.... set.....

....GO!

look at her great form!

After all the eggs had been found (I wonder if they did find all the eggs, I don't know if they counted), the kids got their homemade bunny baskets and 6 eggs were distributed to each. Everyone went home happy!

comparing bunny baskets

showing off her handiwork

My car riders. One of E's best school friends is on her left.