Today we went with our co-op to a Botanical Conservatory.  We were greeted by a talking tree that sang “we love trees!” and told us other tree-ish information.  There was a pretend vegetable garden for the kids to play in and an area about spring.  We read a story about spring then made paper flowers and stamped spring stuff mentioned in the story (a bunny, butterfly, bee, flower, etc.).  After visiting the Signs of Spring center, we moved on to the indoor gardens. 

As we toured the gardens, we became plant private eyes using our magnifying glasses to try and find different things in each garden.  Some of the things we looked for were—three different colors of flowers, a flower that smelled good, a leaf smaller than a finger nail, a shiny leaf, a root in the air, and a fuzzy leaf.   We were amazed at God’s creation as we saw the contrast and variety in the desert garden and the tropical garden!  How many wonderful, different things He has made!

I think the biggest hit was the worm tunnel; the kids got to crawl through the underground seeing life from a worm's perspective (and it ended with a slide!).  There was also a Farmer’s Market to play in complete with cash register and many other hands-on exhibits for the kids. 

It was a great day, and Elijah loved the "big garden place"   :)