Hidden pond nature center

Ben takes a nature quest class every Monday at Hidden Pond Nature Center. He loves it so much. He thinks he is so big now that he can take classes without Siena. It is such a fun class. It's mostly 3 year old boys exploring outside. At the begining of class we sit inside and learn about what we are going to do and what animals we are going to see and we usually get to pet those animals first. Ben has got to touch a snake, a frog and see lots of insects close up. There has been classes about bugs and insects and rocks and minerals. Usually it involves going out to the pond and having nets in the water or digging through dead logs to find bugs. Perfect for little boys. I am surprised at how many little girls there are. I always think Siena would never do this. There was one class where we caught 3 frogs. It's very fun. The first class we were hunting for insects and Ben didn't find any so we stayed after class till we found some. It took a long time but he really wanted to find a bug.

Another class we went to we had nets down by the pond. Imagine 15 little 3 year olds hanging off a pier dipping nets into the water trying to catch something. I about had a heart attack, but luckilly no one fell in. So this last class was our favorite. It was about rocks and minerals. We got to see lava rocks and some crystals. We made a pet rock and then went outside to make a volcano. Ben was so excited about this, I don't really think he knew what was going to happen. He is always talking about explosions and volcanos. Months ago I had to hide a book about volcanos that we have because it is way too long and he wanted to read it a thousand times a day. It was too frustrating for me. We may have to get the book back out.

Here is Ben after he formed his volcano out of mud.

Its starting to explode. He was totally caught off guard and didn't know what was going to happen.

loving the explosion. We did the explosion 3 times he loved it so much. He was sad that we had to leave the mess there. I was happy we didn't get to bring home the volcano.

Random picture of Siena. My little punky Brewster. I figure, she is still in Kindergarten she can still look a little crazy.