The Morton Arboretum

 

We took an unplanned family daytrip on Thursday to Lisle, IL to an AHHHH-MAZING place, The Morton Arboretum!  Their website does it NO justice!  When I was reading some info about the gardens and what it has to offer its visitors, I knew my husband really had very little interest in going, but he said we could “give it a try;” his famous words when he is only going to keep me happy.  (HA!)  I figured the worst thing that could happen would be spending the day outdoors in gorgeous Spring-like weather (finally) as a family of 3.5.  (Our newest sailor makes his appearance in just about 6 weeks- Eek!) 

We were pleasantly surprised when paying at the gate that with my husband’s active duty military ID card both of us received free admission- bonus!  (Our little sailor was free since he is under 2.)  I knew the arboretum was well over a thousand acres, but what I didn’t realize was what it offered for children.  The “Children’s Garden” is absolutely incredible!  In fact, we spent more than 3 hours in just HALF of this area!  Our son went wild in the Sound Garden, playing with the old-fashioned water pumps, exploring the in the Frog Fountain, and so much more!  We had no idea how large the children’s garden was until we were ready to hit the road, loaded up little guy in the wagon and walked through the remaining children’s spot.  There are play areas to climb, run, jump, slide, and simply be a kid among the beauty of plants, trees, water, insects, and anything else part of the natural world!  The toddler garden maze is simply just the cutest activity, but of course our little adventurer was more interested in the large garden maze and getting lost among the tall bushes and shrubs giggling away as he ran along the dirt paths.  While we were following our 16 month old maze guide, we were discussing how taken aback we were with this landmark.  At one point my husband actually made the comment that if we weren’t a good 45 minute drive away we would visit each weekend!  The day of learning, discovery, and enjoyment we had together was truly one we will never forget and hope to recreate again in the near future! 

 

 

 

A Day in the Gardens

Last week was the first day in months that I can remember being outdoors without having to bundle up like I was in the middle of the frigid Arctic, so we skipped an indoor play-date at the children's museum and headed over to the Chicago Botanic Garden.  What a great choice!  My little sailor and I took advantage of the outdoor paths despite the melting snow and muddy trek and walked a little over 2 miles breathing in the fresh, cool air while the orchid show was taking place indoors.  I wrestled with the idea of letting him stroll through the indoor color display since I wasn't sure if this was "an appropriate practice for a mom of a 13 month old," but I figured, "What the heck?!  Learning should be through real-life, real-world exploration and we are going to do just that!"  We were off to purchase our orchid show tickets!

Now, let me first say that we were there in the middle of a school-day so there weren't too many children there.  I think I saw 5-6 littles running around with their mommies besides my little guy and me.  I think 90% of the visitors that day were well over 55 years old. 

After purchasing our tickets, we were off to learn about colors, our senses, textures, flowers, etc. leaving the stroller at the entrance of the exhibit.  My anxiety level was rising thinking about how quickly my eager little boy moves when he discovers new things along the delicate flowers and displays before us; not a good combination, but we were going to make this a positive learning day! 

As we started walking through the colorful array of orchids, I could feel the disapproving looks from numerous elderly women.  Now I am typically a very out-spoken, matter-of-fact person, but today I decided I would let our actions speak louder than words.

My husband and I have been working with our son on the concept of "gentle touches" with our hands, so as I observed him gently touch leaves, brickwork, benches, etc. around him I was simply awe-struck that our little explorer was taking in his surroundings just as we have been modeling for him at home without me intervening.  Of course, as any mother would, I was beaming with pride on the inside, but as I glanced away from my little guy for a split second, there, before us, stood an older woman who clearly was not pleased with my decision to teach my son about natural beauty as she shook her head in disbelief at us.  I smiled gently at her and continued to point out the different colors to my eager learner, but I started doubting my decision until an elderly man passing by says, "that there is a picture-quality."  Why yes, yes it is, sir and thank you for validating my parental decision today!   

 

 

Visit the Chicago Botanic Garden http://www.chicagobotanic.org/

As an added bonus, the gardens are free, you pay for parking.  Military members and families can show their ID for FREE parking. 

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