April Break

We have had quite the month, with school breaks taking up most of it.  However, when you homeschool, you can sneak school days in even when the other kids are on holiday!  Having said that, our kids still enjoyed a nice relaxing month, comparatively.  Quite a few of those days were holidays for Chris too so we took advantage of them and explored more of London and the UK.

London Zoo

Our Good Friday activity was attending the London Zoo.  We had a great time seeing the animals.  The kids were very excited and made us think back to the last time we had been to a large zoo.  It had been quite awhile!  I think Emma was Cami’s age!

Cami was great in spotting the animal statues.

This little bear was actually a little hidden in a corner.  As Cami asked me to take her picture with the bear, I noticed a partially-hidden plaque hanging on the wall near it.

The plaque tells the story of a little bear from Canada (named Winnie after Winnipeg where he was purchased) who was left in temporary care of the London Zoo by its owner.  The bear became one of the zoo’s most popular animals.  One of its frequent visitors was a 5- year-old boy named Christopher Robin Milne, who renamed his own stuffed bear Winnie the Pooh, after the bear in the zoo.  The boy’s father, A. A. Milne, then wrote the story of Winnie the Pooh!  What a legacy – I was so glad we saw this little plaque!

Some of our other favorite animals were:

Black Swan

Giraffes

Monkeys

We were actually able to go inside the monkey area and walk around, spying them in their own little ‘habitat.’  It was really fun.  Some monkeys tried to be friendly and the people thought they were so cute, until a worker came running out of nowhere, telling them not to touch or entice the monkeys.  For some reason I don’t think they saw the LARGE warning signs!

Maybe they should have moved this sign from the llama area to the monkeys!

The last enclosure we went into was the Butterfly House.  I could have stayed in there a long time just watching the butterflies, but it was so humid in there that the kids just wanted to walk straight through and out again.

Hands down, I think we would all agree that the highlight of the day was seeing the otters fed.

We got a great science lesson out of it and were able to see them in action.  The kids each insisted on spending some of their allowance money on stuffed animals to remember our trip to the zoo.  Emma and Cami each chose an otter; Caleb chose a monkey; and Hannah chose a zebra (which she pronounces in the British way – zeb/ra).

White Cliffs of Dover

We’re not used to having two public holidays for Easter, but it was great to have Easter Monday as well.  We took the chance and went on a day trip down to the White Cliffs of Dover.

A few of the kids were a little nervous about hiking along them at first.

But, the hike was set up very nicely for all levels of hikers.  With the kids, we stayed to one of the upper paths, which was fairly flat.

It was fun to walk along and see the wild flowers, the many butterfly cocoons, and caterpillars.

In one area, we started noticing some horse manure . . we soon found out why (see them towards the top of the below picture).

There was no fence between the far fence and the cliffs.  I guess the horses just know not to get too close.

We hiked the two miles in to see the lighthouse.

We didn’t go in but had a great view.

It was quite foggy so we couldn’t see all the way to France, but it was great to see the ferries come and go from the harbor.

Before we got too far into our hike back, we had a little picnic break and just enjoyed the view!  Cami wouldn’t sit down because of the amount of caterpillars that were around.  She was afraid one would climb up her bare legs!

We didn’t have enough time in our day to tour Dover Castle, but we had a great view of it from the cliffs.

This four-mile hike whet our appetite for more hiking.  Our kids are now all old enough to hike on their own and enjoy what is around them.  I think we may be looking for some more adventurous hikes in the upcoming months!

Hampstead Heath

Our last activity for our break was actually an outing with our friend’s, the Lee’s.  We have known them from our Cornell days and try to stay in touch here in London, as we all serve together in different capacities at church.  However, life in the city is a lot harder than in the lovely haven of Ithaca.  Even though we are in the same city, it takes about an hour by car (without traffic) to get to their area of the city, but it’s so worth it!  They have found a part of London that makes you feel like you are far into the country . . in Hampstead Heath.  Their flat is just below the 800 acres of Heathland.

We had a wonderful picnic brunch – talked, explored, played, and ate.  It was great!

We had a beautiful view all around us.  You could pick which view you wanted – the heath or the London skyline.

Can’t wait to go back for another visit to explore the heath some more!