Homeschool Fieldtrip San Francisco Zoo & Gardens #SFZoo #California #Homeschool

 *Hosted guests of the San Francisco Zoo

I LOVE the San Francisco Zoo. It is a beautiful place with amazing animals. The landscape, buildings, park playground and the food make this place more than a home for the animals, its a destination if you are visiting the Bay Area. 

We are a homeschool family (long before the pandemic) and I try to find ways to make what my son learns in books also an experience in life. This is why I love Zoos and what they do to educated children about animal conservation. I feel like kids seeing these wonderous animals in person will help them further understand why we must conserve the land of these creatures. 

My son LOVES and I mean LOVES Giraffes!! Anytime we can make a visit to a Zoo they are the first animal we check out. We enjoyed a close up visit with an adorable giraffe that made my son so happy. We also learned why they have dark colored tongues, its like sunscreen to not get a sun burn. We were standing in our group circle for this close encounter so he was all ours for a few moments. The Zoo created spots for families to stand in (they are painted on the ground) so people can keep a safe distance.

Educational opportunities are all over the park on signs and posters.

The Eastern Lowland Gorillas are one of my favorite animals to visit at the SF Zoo. I could sit there for hours watching them interact with each other. The silver back is magnificent to see in person and the antics of the other gorillas is adorable! We watched them toss blankets at one another and take turns sitting in a cozy bucket.

As a Californian, bears have a special place in my list of favorite animals. The California Grizzly Bear is our state animal and also on our state flag. The strength and size of the bears leave me in awe to see one close up. Watching one casually play in a mini lake was amazing to see.

We also saw a Mexican Gray Wolf, American Black Bear, Scarlet Ibis, Rhino, Zebra and so many other magnificent animals. We did not see the whole Zoo this trip since this place is HUGE but it is also a great reason to go back and see more of the animals.

THE FOOD. I did not expect the food to be so delicious or have so many options. Our chef was so nice and prepared our food right there fresh. My husband and I ordered the 100% Grass Fed burgers and our son ordered a meatball sub with of course mac n cheese on the side. They maintained safety by having us wear our masks indoors and eat outside on the wooden picnic tables. The Zoo is so beautiful that I prefer to eat outside, you will even get to see all the peacocks walking around as you enjoy your meal.

Back in 2013 my son was the first kid to play on the San Francisco Zoo Elinor Friend Playground. We visited the playground as guests and WOW was it cool! We of course had to take the time to play after we ate. 

Slide 2021 (he doesn't need my help up there anymore!)

Slide 2013 (he is so little and this must have seemed huge to him)

The playground is awesome. It has many places for parents to sit, a squishy ground to help in falls and bumps, different themes for each playground area and hand sanitizer stations too. My son played on the swings, went down the slides and we enjoyed the beautiful cool day outside.

We have a tradition to our Zoo trips that we always leave with a stuffed animal. We visited the gift shop and found a giraffe stuffed animal that we did not already own (this is tough to come by when your kid has dozens of them lol).

Welcome to our herd, Mort the newest stuffie to join our crew.

We always enjoy our visits to the SF Zoo. It is an experience in learning about animals, plants and conservation. All mixed in with a fun playground and even a train ride. We definitely rode the train ride, it is a lovely way to see part of the park and a rest for your legs. Our favorite, the carousel was not running that day but hopefully it will be next time.

Make Your Message POP with Pentel Pens Review and Giveaway #PentelPOP #ad

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions in this post are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. #ad

I wear many hats in my life, I am a Mom, a blogger, a sales person and a homeschooling teacher. All of these things require me to be creative! One of my favorite things for my sales job is writing "Thank You" notes for my customers. I like to add my personality in my cards with fun colors and little hand drawn art. I do not have the best art skills so I always need good tools to add the POP of color and fun that I want to my cards.

Using Pentel POP Gel Collection pens allows for my lack of skills to still make my cards fun. The Gel Collection set includes 3 types of pens, Sparkle Pop, Milky Pop and Solar Pop. I LOVE the Sparkle Pop since I like all things sparkly! My son was enjoying the Solar Pop for his art work. The fluidity of the pens sets them apart from the average pen. They are bright in color and easy to write with. I plan on leaving some of the fun sparkle colors at work for my co-workers to use on their "Thank You notes. My son has claimed all the Solar Pens and has stashed them away in his school desk.

Sparkle Pop

• Add a unique "Pop" of shimmering color to your writing world
• New innovative, reflective and sparkling iridescent ink is ultra-glittery
• Ink looks like a different color when writing on black or white paper (2 colors in 1)
• Perfect for cards, drawings, doodles and other designs

Milky Pop

• Add a "Pop" of pizzazz to any page with milky pastel ink colors
• Vivid pastel colored ink contrasts well with dark colored paper to make your writing and artwork stand out
• Perfect for invitations, greeting cards, drawing and more

Solar Pop

• Add a "Pop" of bright neon color to your life
• Unique ink glows bright under a blacklight
• Vibrant fluorescent neon ink colors give your writing and artwork extra visual attention

My son is truly a creative individual. He has loved writing stories and drawing the illustrations since he was in kindergarten. This last school year he has started writing and illustrating his own Comic Book series. His stories are filled with humor and the constant battle of good vs. bad as the characters develop their stories. He is always wanting new shades of color to make his illustrations more detailed. He enjoyed using the Pentel Gel Solar pens for his newest comic.

What would you create with Pentel Gel POP Pens? Enter my giveaway here on the blog for a chance to win a $40 worth of assorted Pentel POP products. If you are looking for inspiration for creative ideas using Pentel POP Pens you can check out their idea page HERE.

GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway
***GIVEAWAY limited to U.S. residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 16, 2018 and ends on July 30, 2018 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Fall in Love with Lakeshore Learning Toys and Homeschooling Resources #homeschool

* I received toys to review for this post from Lakeshore Learning, all opinions expressed are my own.

As a homeschooling mom I am constantly looking for new ideas for teaching my son. Lakeshore Learning has a fabulous Free Resource area on their website for lesson plans, craft ideas, printables, word searches and a create your own section with flash cards, award maker and more. I found so many ideas and printables that we will be using for school.

Check out this fun and festive Lakeshore Learning free October writing prompts to help kids celebrate autumn while sharpening their writing skills http://bit.ly/OctoberWritingPrompts I know I will be using these for my son's daily journal writing this month.

I am a big believer in learning should be fun and interactive. I keep that in mind when selecting toys for my son. Shopping at Lakeshore Learning my needs are met for fun and educational. My son loves it when I will do STEM style learning with him. The science of things fascinates him. With that in mind I selected 3 toys that would encourage his love for science.

Young Scientist Chemistry Lab

My son loved this kit! He wanted to do every experiment in one day. He loved following the directions and measuring out the parts needed. His favorite one was the Rocket Ball experiment and I loved the Glowing Ice Spheres. It was so enjoyable to spend time with my son doing a hands on learning toy that we could make into a memory together. We learned and bonded.

Real Bugs Discovery Kit

This toy has been absolutely great! My son has loved using a magnifying glass to inspect each bug. This has led to conversations about more bugs, googling facts about the bugs and trips to the park to see what other sorts of bugs we could find. I had so much fun learning with him!

Fascinating Facts Human Body Game

As soon as this toy arrived my son declared it must be a 2nd grade toy since it looks a little too scary for him. I laughed a bit to myself but respected his wishes for the toy to be hid in the closet until he is older request. I did check it out for myself, when he was asleep of course and it looks like it will be a very cool and valuable learning resource for when he is ready for it.

You can shop online for Lakeshore Learning and also in store. We have one here in Roseville that you can shop in store off Douglas Blvd. Plus of you are a teacher you can sign up for their Teacher's Club and get 15% off. I will need to find out of they offer discounts to Home Schooling families.

Lakeshore Learning shares ideas for learning and more of their products on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Have you shopped online or in store with Lakeshore Learning? 

Do you have any must check out items that you recommend?

Post by- Laura