Outing to Pretoria National Botanical Gardens

On Friday morning we had a lovely outing to the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens with the Pretoria North Homeschool group.  For the age group up to Grade 4 the theme was "Life in a Pond".  The older kids from gr 5 up did a more indepth study on the ecosystem surrounding the pond.  Maria was our guide and "teacher" for the younger group.

 Maria, explaining all the rules of the Garden.

Each child received a set of worksheets and at their own time could search for the animals in the ponds and streams in the Botanical Gardens.

 Crossing and studying a water stream.

A sheet with all possible animals / insects at the pond.

Simeon added tadpoles, bees and crabs on his sheet.

Joshua had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the ducks and other birds.

Simeon hard at work:  drawing a pond and plants

I love the way a child tries to overcome the different dimensions.

Sharing a rock

Individual attention of mom-teacher making a list of all things in and around the pond.

We also visited the waterfall and the wishing well but my hands were full, and I did not take any pictures.  This photo of Joshua was at a previous visit.

The weather was overcast and cool and we were very glad that the rain only started when we finished our picnic. 

The Pretoria National Botanical Gardens: (website)

This beautiful 76 hectare property is situated on the eastern side of Pretoria.  For directions visit the website here.   The website offers a good opportunity to plan an outing and to decide on what to do.  See this Virtual Tour that describes different areas.

There are many opportunities for studying different ecosystems in the Botanical Gardens.  There are short and longer hiking trails, a mountainous area, waterfall, grasslands, wetlands, and a Ndebele Traditional-use Garden and displays.  You could also visit the book shop, one of the two restaurants, and the Herbarium.

Thank you Joy for organising such a lovely outing.