Today's All About the Penguins

Today's All About the Penguins

There's so much I could write about today. But I'm choosing to follow my mother's example and change the topic to avoid having to face issues that are truly unpleasant. D.E.N.I.A.L. Come on, Pollyanna, let's get this post together. If you feel let down by this avoidance of reality, feel free to visit www.montior.co.ug and imagine what I'd have to say. Today, it's all about the penguins.

During my first year of teaching at the elementary level (2005-2006), I did a unit with my students in American Samoa on penguins. We read Mr. Popper's Penguins (one of my all-time favourite books which I'm sorry to hear that it's been made into a film staring Jim Carrey), made posters to advertise a penguin show, researched different species of penguins around the world, watched March of the Penguins, and in PE we raced along the road carrying penguin eggs (aka rolled up socks) on the tops of our feet.

Everything we did was related to our investigation of penguins, and it was a very enjoyable learning experience... Well, at least for the teacher. One of my students chose the African penguin (also know as the black-footed penguin and once known as the jackass penguin because of the jackass-like noise that it makes) as her research topic. I'd never heard of penguins in Africa before, and I've been fascinated with them ever since.

When I decided to come to Cape Town for the Two Oceans Marathon, going to visit the penguins at Boulders Beach was high on my 'to do' list. Well, today I did it. The penguins were visited.

Figuratively ticking that item off of the proverbial list made me very happy.

As the penguins waddled around, I kept expecting Bert to jump out from behind one of the huge rocks and begin dancing with the little birds.

As it turned out, he didn't. No worries. It was still a 'lovely holiday', even without Bert.