We began our unit on Australia last Monday, reading Koala Lou and following up on it by learning more about marsupials and locating Australia on our globe. At the same time, we were also finishing up our animal unit in science, and I thought a "field trip" to the Rochester Fair would be a fun way to round out our studies. There are always plenty of pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry and other farm animals to visit. I was on the lookout for an emu, after seeing one in the poultry barn a few years back. I figured it would give the boys a chance to be up close and personal with Australian wildlife, and get them excited to read about more. To my dismay, there were no emus in the barns this year. But a bigger surprise awaited us next to the circus tent. Not only did we get to see two beautiful giraffes, a zebra, and some monkeys, but of ALL THINGS there was a grey kangaroo and a wallaby family. The boys excitedly stuck their fingers through the wires of the cage trying to pet the kangaroo, laughing as it hopped around on its extremely large feet. At the wallaby cage, a most wonderful little gift awaited our eyes. We were petting the mommy wallaby and watching her jump around the cage when all of a sudden we noticed a little HEAD sticking out of her belly!! She was carrying an adorable baby around in her pouch, then he was out and exploring on his own, and finally he was nudging her to nurse.... and we got to see it all first hand. I could've stayed there for an hour trying to get a good photo, but with two busy boys by my side we eventually had to keep moving on.
Later that night after downloading the pictures onto my computer, I was thrilled to find the above photo of the baby giving his mommy a kiss. Too sweet!
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