Watching the Big Cats
Today’s highlight was seeing the big cats up and around! The jaguars were playing, the cougars were pacing, and even the elusive lynx left his hiding place in the rocks and came down to watch us.
Tie Dye Fun
We had so much fun with our last tie-dying experiment, we decided to do it again! The kids had a fabulous time, and ended up with some great looking shirts!
Chocolate Factories
For this month’s meeting, the younger kids read Curious George Goes to the Chocolate Factory and the older ones read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. We had so much fun discussing both books, and afterwards created labels for our own candy bar ideas.
Science Friday at McWane Center
The drive to Birmingham was well worth it! We arrived early and spent most of the day exploring all the fascinating interactive exhibits at the McWane Center. A few favorites were the bed of nails, the dino dig and tug-of-war with the giant lever. Can’t wait to go back again soon!
Chicks!
We borrowed an incubator from the 4-H office this month, hoping to have hatching chicks to watch for our meeting. We discussed eggs and chickens, cracked some grocery store eggs to identify the different parts, and everyone had a chance to see the incubating eggs and learn about the process. Unfortunately, the eggs didn’t actually start hatching until almost everyone had left, but several families were able to come back and see the emerging chicks over the next 24 hrs, and we updated everyone else with pictures and videos online.
Fun Family Picnic
Weekend activities are a great way for more dads to be involved in PEAK! We enjoyed a fabulous lakeside potluck picnic and enjoyed playing some fun games to get to know each other better. The kids jumped rope, ran races and had a friendly cricket match with some of the dads.
Looking forward to Spring
The kids shared their favorite books with a spring theme this month, as we’re all enjoying the warmer weather. We had several great reports, including a particularly informative one about Mantids. Great work, kids!
New Friends at the Zoo
When we headed for the park today, we were surprised to see new horse trails almost complete! We’ve noticed the horses on the back side of the lake when we ride the train lately, and it was nice to see them out and interacting with zoo visitors. One of the handlers let the kids visit with the horses, and we’re now anxiously awaiting the opening of the horse ride attraction!
Visit to the Landfill
Our visit to the North Montgomery Landfill finally happened! After having to postpone a few times due to rain, we were glad to be able to head out on the berms to see how a landfill works. Our wonderful guide, Mr. Cork, was full of interesting information about the history and daily operations of the landfill and the kids enjoyed seeing all the large machinery at work.
Winter Reading
This month, the kids each shared one of the books they’ve been reading over the winter. It was nice to be able to meet outside, and we enjoyed going for a walk and feeding the ducks after the meeting. 
