Bonnie the Snake Lady

This evening, Connor and I went to see "Bonnie the Snake Lady" at the Arnone School.  Bonnie has many reptiles, and many have some type of disability, such as blindness, or missing legs, etc.  It was put on by the parent information center through Brockton Public Schools, but it was Connor's daycare lady, Ms. Janet, who organized a group to go.  She reserved front seating for a bunch of the kids that attend her daycare.  Thank GOD she did this, because the place was PACKED.  And, unfortunately, packed with a lot of parents who didn't feel the need to ask their children to follow the rules.  There were a LOT of kids making their way into the aisles, both on the sides and in the middle, and Bonnie was not too happy about it.  She was VERY good at being nice, but the second the kids got too close to the animals, you could tell she was nervous.  There were also an insane amount of talking.  I realize this program was for elementary aged children, but it seemed to be more adult conversation than kids talking.  From the middle row back people couldn't hear, even with a new microphone.  I felt badly for them, and there were some parents who weren't afraid to be vocal that they couldn't hear.  It was a little insane, but there were some good parts!

Connor loved seeing the reptiles.  He was fascinated with the turtles, lizards, and snakes (one of them a big python).  There was a lot of explaining by Bonnie, which was lost on Connor, so he played with my phone for much of the night.  If it was a smaller group and more hands-on, I think he would have been totally engrossed.  The worst part of the night (well, for Mommy), was when Bonnie busted out the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.  You know, the kind that are the size of my hand?  I was completely grossed out by them!  They asked for volunteers with white shirts on to hold them.  Guess who had a BRAND NEW white shirt on?  But I lucked out that I wasn't a kid, so I didn't get called on.  There was a very brave 4-year-old who volunteered to go up.  She did start to freak out when both cockroaches started crawling up her neck.  EEEEWWW!!

At the end of the presentation, everyone got a chance to touch the python and turtles.  The second I asked if he wanted to touch the snake, he jumped up and tried to cut in line!  He was very excited to see the snake, and was very respectful touching it, too.  Most kids were rushed through the line to accommodate all of the people, but the people before us were talking to Bonnie, so we got a little extra time with the snake.  Connor went right up to his head with NO fear.  I was pretty impressed.

I think Bonnie would be great to have in a small setting.  It'd be great to see a few kids get to have a complete hands-on experience with the reptiles.  Although, I may ask her to leave the cockroaches at home!