Field Trip!

What a day!  Field trips are always a special endeavor, usually filled with excitement.  For me, there is a bit of stress involved, being one of the teachers in charge.  I was thrilled so many parents wanted to attend.  I have never had ELEVEN parents on a field trip.  That is usually because of bus space and cost, but we were fortunate to sign up for a special program from the LA County Fair that allowed all our 3rd graders and parent volunteers to attend for free!  Having so many parents really made the trip a breeze.  I did have plenty to stress about even with such great support.  The first stress of the day came at 8:20am when our buses were 5 minutes late.  That is very unlike our district buses so I thought I had better go check.  Turns out the bus request was not input properly.  My heart sunk hearing this.  I had ninety 3rd graders in our quad ready to go and we had no buses?  This could not be happening.  Our principal got right on it, and while she worked it out, we had to return to our classes and wait.  I did not want to let on to the kids that something was wrong, but how could I not when we were going back to class and not getting on buses?  The kids were great though.  They were happy to watch the Magic School Bus while the adults sorted the matter.  The parent volunteers pooled money together to get the kids extra snacks when they learned we were likely still going, just a bit later and for a longer time than originally anticipated.  So about an hour and a half after we were supposed to leave, buses came for us and we were on our way!

I wish I could post photos here of the kids on the bus and all their fun at the fair.  I really enjoyed seeing all the wonder and awe in their eyes…even over the simplest of things.  I guess that is what being an adult does to you, takes away the thrill of the ‘little things,’ until you see it in a child.  The highlight of the trip had to be the farm animals.  We read a story this week called “Cows in the Parlor” which explained how cows are milked.  At the fair today they had a milking demonstration, and the story came to life for the kids, it was impressive.  There was a petting zoo and all sorts of animals to see.  Our kids don’t live on farms and they rarely get to see these sorts of animals up close. I really enjoyed watching them explore the animals and talk excitedly among themselves about them.

In the end, despite the late start, and the late pick up, the kids had a wonderful time.  That is all that matters right?

Thanks again to the parents who came on the trip, my colleagues Ms. Moore and Mrs. Alaniz, and to our principal Mrs. Cabrales for doing what she could to make sure this happened for us.