From winter to summer, we’ve got blown over with a horrible wind lasting for a week. Opened and closed the month with sickness and rough coughing.

Beginning of March

Riding the motivation wave from last month, I continued waking up super early to go for an hour walk before sunrise. Overall I managed to get out 19 times in 31 days. I am now focusing on increasing the number of days I take 20’000 plus steps.

AgriNido

AgriNido is a parent-child morning on a farm led by a childcare professional. We basically met up with a bunch of parents and their tiny human aged 1 to 4 years-old. We followed our guide around, who introduced the kids to all the animals on the farm.

Once we collected some fresh grass, we fed the bunnies, while the other half of the group fetched some water for the tiny bunnies. Then we visited the goats and played on their playground after topping up their hay stack. Next we cleaned the donkeys and last but not least we cleaned up the stable of the alpacas before feeding them some carrot and apple slices. After the tour the smaller visitors were ready for their well-deserved nap time in the car on the way home.

It was a truly hands on experience both for the kids and for their caretakers. I wish this type of nursery would take place on a weekly basis in our area. I would have signed up for a day a week as opposed to one more day in an indoor setting. But I am told it takes a lot of permits to operate such a setting in our region.

Safari Park

March 19 is a bank holiday in Ticino. It is also Father’s Day. As my husband was working that day, I packed the car and set off to visit the Safari Park at Pombia, Northern Italy. The park – for our surprise – was much more than a Safari Park.

After a quick lunch we set off to visit the reptiles in the Rettilario. With more than 400 animals of 100+ species, the kids were eagerly looking through each terrarium to spot the well hidden creatures.

Next up, we hopped on one of those cool Dotto Trains to feed the animals at the Safari Park. Before we took off, they handed out buckets of carrots to everyone so we could toss them to the animals through the train windows. The giraffes totally knew it was snack time when they spotted the train coming! With their chests at eye level, they had to lean down to grab the carrots we held out. My youngest was totally amazed by how long the giraffes’ tongues were and ended up finishing the ride in grandma’s lap, watching those big guys from a comfy distance. Our daughter and eldest had a blast feeding the animals, even though they often dropped the food on the ground instead of handing it to them.

We saw these animals during the 45 minutes drive:

After the Safari ride we had to visit the amusement park before heading home. Although we were still in the Safari Park, the fun rides had to be paid separately. As that Thursday was not a bank holiday in Italy, the park was almost exclusively ours 🙂 One big bonus for families with neurodivergent kids. One of the employee told us that during the holiday season they get around 4-5000 visitors per day. That Thursday we visited they had about 300 visitors. It was a very chill day for them.

Leolandia

For our father’s day trip we opted in to see what Leolandia has to offer. It was a gloomy day with spurs of sunshine here and there.

It was a mix of emotions throughout the day. I would definitely advise against visiting with a neurodivergent child. We faced a lot of minor challenges, that did not went down well with our daughter. I am talking about simple things, like you are not able to choose the colour of the ride you need to sit on when it’s your turn finally. All the rushing to take your spot and the sudden ending of it, was a lot to take in.

We also had lots of fun feeding the farm animals and meeting Bluey and Bingo. Lunch was surprisingly great. Only saying because we are so used to eating crappy food when visiting such parks. But not this time, there are many options to choose from.

Of course at the end everyone must leave through the souvenir shop. Ensuring that people not only go home with frate memories but also with a souvenir in hand.

April in Planning

• Easter Time in Ticino
• Family visiting from Italy and Poland
• Longer Days – more time to spend outdoors
• Our Bikes needs a face lift

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

It’s heartwarming to see that we managed to spend 85 hours outside, even if it felt like a slower month overall. We faced some challenges with illness at both the beginning and end of the month, which made our outdoor adventures more limited. Nonetheless, during the two and a half weeks we felt well, we truly embraced the time we had, planning experiences that allowed us to enjoy full days together in nature.