Animal Adventures Bolton Massachusetts

A funny thing happened on our way to the Robin's Hood Fair for our second trip with family last May, it rained and they closed the fair. Faced with several cars of disappointed children and let's be honest adults we pulled out phones and began searching for a substitute destination. Thankfully, one family member remembered serving as a chaperone on her then high school senior's Kindergarten trip to Animal Adventures and suggested it would make a great alternate trip for our disappointed group. For those of you who are also interested in going the website is here. You can find information about pricing, hours, directions and additional programs available.

Well not only was it a great alternate destination for our animal and reptile loving family members it was likely a better destination than the one we'd planned as this was all activity all the time. There was little time spent waiting with no interaction or something to do.

When we arrived I wasn't really sure what to make of the place. This is one of the times to follow that old phrase about not judging a book by its cover. It doesn't look very big from the outside, but there is a world of wonder inside if you have kids that like creatures.

While they normally have set show hours of 11, 1, and 3, due to the increased volume, which will happen when a fair unexpectedly closes, they added a show, which was perfect for our family because we didn't have to wait until the next show that wouldn't have started until 1. We arrived too late to make the 11 show.

The kids were constantly engaged by the staff to see, touch and learn about various creatures. I will confess to having avoided the snakes and the reptiles, but looking at one of the books for the youngest nephew's homeschool science program next year there is a lesson about the spines of a porcupine and he's actually seen an touched them. What an amazing experience to bring into his nature study next year.

Along with the indoor exhibits there are also some outdoor places to interact with animals including rabbits and goats. This was a huge hit with our group.

For those with active ones another big hit for our group was the outdoor play structures. While we had a little light rain it cleared, which I'm sure the Faire wished they'd known would happen. The kids were spent breaks between visiting buildings and after we were done with animals playing on the wooden castle and the pirate ship which included swings and slides. These play areas were a huge bonus as the kids could burn off some energy in an appropriate manner.

All in all this was an amazing find and we will be back. We've done large zoo trips with the extended family and this was different because it was smaller. You didn't feel exhausted trying to get to see everything in a day. You could see it all in a few hours. It was much more personalized as it is designed for the staff to interact with visitors and to help them learn more about the creatures through engagement with them. We had a wide range of ages from Kindergarten through high school and nobody ever seemed bored. That is a rare situation when we make these multi-family trips as it is hard to find one activity that reaches all ages, but they all seemed fascinated by the creatures they were able to meet. This was one of our most successful outings, even if accidental.

Roughing It on the Oregon Trail

Roughing It on the Oregon Trail is another picture book in Diane Stanley's Time Traveling Twins historical fiction picture book series.

If you aren't familiar with the Time Traveling Twins, there are three books in the series in addition to this book Joining the Boston Tea Party (The Time-Traveling Twins) and Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation (The Time-Traveling Twins) and in all the books the twins travel back in time with their grandmother using a magic hat.

This trip begins with the children discussing family pictures on the wall in their grandmother's house. She asks them which person they'd like to meet and they settle on a picture of a relative who traveled on the Oregon Trail. Thus we find ourselves with the children crossing the west.

I like this series because children are drawn into the time period by sharing the history with other modern children. The fictional children ask questions and act in ways that help bridge the time period between the past and present for children reading or hearing the story.

This is a picture book designed for younger children, so some concepts are simplified or glossed over. The book does attempt to address the challenges without dealing with the realities of death and disease. If you are looking for a story that addresses the issues with the Native American population you won't find it here. This is not a book making social statements, it is a book designed to introduce children used to modern transportation to life during the age of wagon travel.

If you are looking for an introduction to western expansion for younger students this is a good start or an extra read for your unit.

Secrets of American History Revolutionary War The Founding Fathers Were Spies

Ready to read has produced a leveled reader American History series, Secrets of American History.  I was pleased to see this because parents, teachers, and homeschooling families often are looking for independent reading material for children that engages and provides independent non-fiction reading opportunities for their students.

The Founding Fathers Were Spies!: Revolutionary War (Secrets of American History)is a Level 3 reader and while it gives a brief and not very interesting introduction to the war, the book's main purpose is to introduce students to the topic of Colonial spying during the Revolutionary War.

I think sometimes the author's feel compelled to do more than the book allows, which weakens the over all success of the book. The introduction to the war is terrible. However, the information the book was written to cover is well written and age appropriate. It covers a wide range of material that often isn't covered for elementary students about the importance of intelligence work in Washington's efforts to win the war.

The author challenges students to think about how communication occurred in a world before electronic communication and then proceeds to explain how those challenges were met in very creative ways. My two favorite stories were about how women participated in the spying because they were often around the British when their homes were occupied. One story discusses a woman using buttons as a means of communicating secret messages. Another discusses how hanging laundry became a communication system that could be used for a variety of alerts.

Recently more adult literature and movies have been discussing Washington's Culper Spy Ring. This book presents this bit of history in a very child friendly format. Many children are fascinated by secret codes, invisible ink, and spies who carry secret messages in their shoes. This book explains it was all part of the efforts to win the Revolutionary War. The back section of the book even includes a recipe for invisible ink.

This is an accessible independent reader for elementary students studying the American Revolution.

Sudbury Massachusetts 2018 Summer Free Concert Series

Sudbury Park & Recreation has announced their 2018 free Summer Concert series along with a rain location at the Fairbanks Center Community Gym.

2018 Performance Lineup

July 9: Country Night With Jimmy Conner

July 16: Angry Bees

July 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: *Family fun night* with Debbie and Friends; The Friends of Broadway; and the Chinese-American Association of Sudbury

July 30: Cover tunes with The Paul Rodriguez Band

Aug. 6: Oldies with The Reminisants

For comfort I suggest a blanket or chairs when attending these summer concerts.  Concerts are scheduled for Monday nights beginning at 7pm. Unless it rains you will find the concerts at Haskell Field (at the corner of Hudson Rd and Fairbanks Rd), and are designed to be family friendly.