In my essay I talk about how I use J's enthusiasm for each new animal for language-practice purposes. The first thing we did was come up with good names. We named the horsie "Schnuddelpferdchen" after the Janosch story:
With the snake, the first thing we did—all three of us—was some research in J's snake books about what kind of snake she was. We discovered she was a new species, a "Coral Milk King Snake" (eine Korallenmilch-Königsnatter) and that her name is Koralmi.
Another way new animal friends are fantastic is for encouraging reportage, about which I write a good bit in the essay (under "second phase activities). For example, this afternoon we went for a bike ride to some of our favorite spots around Athens and took Koralmi and Spiggy—another piggy—with. The animals ride in the bike bags near J's feet so that he can talk to them and show them things while riding.
Here are some pictures showing J explaining to Koralmi and Spiggy about the old rail bridges and and mills down on the North Oconee River:
In such situations, if I start to explain something J knows about, he will actually tell me to be quiet so that he can explain it. I further encourage this by having one of the animals—in this case Spiggy— agree with J and tell me that he explains things better.
