natural historian

Earlier this month, we were in Brooklyn for a weekend. On Monday, we checked out of our hotel and (finally!?!) found a good bagel place. The weather was grey and rainy, so we really were not in the mood to explore places by foot outdoors, especially while carrying all our conference swag, our clothes and electronics. Luckily for us, one of the best places to go with kids in NYC has its own subway stop! And, to top it off, it is one of the nicest subway stations in the city: American Museum of Natural History Subway Station.

The station is only the tip of the inverted iceberg. As we ascended through the museum (via elevator, given our stroller loaded down with CDs and more), we were so happy to meet up with so many of our old friends. The girls have been to AMNH enough times now that they remember their favorite spots and can’t wait to get to them (like the giant armadillo). We wanted to go to the gem room, but it has extremely reduced hours these days due to budgetary issues.

The one BIG development in this trip was Chloe’s reading ability. She can now read so much to herself that she doesn’t need much help to read the signs. And she wanted to read each and every display. I found myself a nice spot to sit with the stroller and let her take her own sweet time in each room. I felt no need to keep an eye on her the whole time (a la Free Range Kids). She knew where I was, knew how far she could go and was happy to explore on her own or with her sister to guide her.