Pizza, Zoos, and Dolls…oh my!

I’m in Chicago right now with my mom, celebrating two milestone birthdays we have this year. We didn’t waste any time in experiencing the city. Arriving around lunchtime, our first stop after dropping off our bags was to test out some of Chicago’s deep dish pizza at Pizano’s near our hotel.

Not only did we enjoy the pizza immensely, but we also received some great advise from the restaurant’s manager. When we finished eating, the pouring rain that had greeted us had finally let up.
We walked over to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It may not be a big zoo, but it’s free! As a teacher of kids from lower-income families, this is a fact that gets me pretty excited! In planning field trips back at home, our zoo was a popular choice, but can also be expensive. Since we had a large percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch at my previous school, we could not charge students to pay for field trips. All students had to be covered by school funds. Therefore, my team tended to shy away from going to our zoo. After bus fees and $7 per kid to visit the zoo, we weren’t left with much more money for anything else. Unfortunately, a school field trip might be the only time some of our students would be able to visit the zoo. With the Lincoln Park Zoo being free, this gives more children from all backgrounds to have the opportunity to see animals from other parts of the world. Mom and I also liked that there was a section with farm animals and a garden. This could give inner-city kids who might never leave the city the chance to learn about farms and where food comes from (as well as healthy food choices). Not only is this zoo one of the oldest in the country, but also one of the last free zoos. Mom was quite impressed with the landscaping, as well as the architecture of the lion house. I enjoyed the bears the most.

We did quite a bit of walking around the city for the rest of the day, and even popped in to the American Girl store. I must say, if you are going in there to reminisce about your childhood, this is not the place to go. Most of the original dolls have been retired, and while they have added a few new interesting historical dolls, the majority of the store is dedicated to the modern dolls. While I am not against these dolls and they definitely have their place, it is a bit sad to me that the historical dolls that I was so fond of as a kid seem like they are being phased out. I learned so much about history from these dolls and their accompanying books as a kid! And now from a teacher’s perspective, I am sad that such a wonderful learning opportunity may be lost on some young girls in favor of a modern era doll. At least they are still making historical dolls, though! And I had to laugh because the Lego store is located right next to the American Girl store. With Legos having been my brother’s favorite childhood toy and American Girl dolls being mine, my parents would have been in big trouble if we were still kids now and they brought us here!

Other than the slight disappointment in the American Girl store, the remainder of our day was quite enjoyable and successful! Looking forward to a great trip!