I took L to zoo school — an instructional program for kids at our local zoo. It was short and sweet: just what a group of toddlers needs.

We began by exploring various animal artifacts, including a turtle shell that was almost as big as the Girl. This, it turned out, was only the keep-them-busy-while-the-others-arrive activity.

The topic was “Big and Small” and it was simply designed to get the kids thinking of the relative sizes of all animals. The highlight was when everyone got to touch a millipede.

Though the Girl was initially nervous about being in a room with strangers, she showed no anxiety about touching the millipede. That’s both good and bad: good for the obvious reasons, bad because a dose of caution around unknown animals is always a good thing. Let’s hope she doesn’t get inspired to try to pick up any crawling beasts she might find in our yard…

At the end of the program, L showed her leadership ability by cleaning up the pile of crayons another child had created, dumping an entire tub of them on the floor. In classic Tom Sawyer fashion, she convinced everyone it was fun and soon others joined in.

L’s eagerness to help constantly takes me by surprise. The trick now: how to maintain it through childhood.