Field Trips

The next time I take my kids on a field trip, I think I’ll go by myself.

Whine, whine, whine!  And most of the whining wasn’t even from me! JTconstantly getting into my space and (gasp!) touching Luci. Luci  every second, “Mommy, hold me! I don’t want to see that, it’s scary! Make him STOP IT!”


Not to mention how spoiled we are, getting to chose to visit places when crowds are low–and then we get personalized attention from the docents at whatever museum we are visiting.  Until yesterday.


Bother!  The children’s science museum is wonderful.  But when we drove up to it (in our little Prius, saving gas all the way!), there were SEVEN school buses.  SEVEN.  Sigh.


It was a madhouse the entire time.  I even pulled out my Teacher Voice (cultivated over seven years of teaching in Texas) to make two boys stop whaling away on another boy with part of an exhibit.  I was looking around for their teacher or chaperone when finally they left, to go somewhere where no busy-body  mother would get in the way of their having fun.


My kids would wait politely to use some of the equipment when wham! eight or ten school kids would crowd in front of them.  And no chaperones there, either.  Grrr!  Finally, when we were in the bubble zone (or whatever cute name the museum gave it), I told one girl to back off, it’s JT’s turn.



One good thing to happen:  Luci was in the right spot at the right time to have Channel Six’s weather man do a report from Santa’s Workshop!  She’s in there somewhere, trust me. I used Luci’s cheap-o camera so I wouldn’t have to lug my big one around.  Next time I’m taking my big camera.

JT making a big bubble. Right after I shooed a sixth-grader away. Just about the only photo that turned out half-way decent.

Then, today was a Daisy outing.  The Festival of Trees, where we are to learn about different cultures’ celebrations of Christmas.

Oh, my!  That sounds educational.  Sort of like Social Studies, I’m all into this outing!


Until we get there.  There are NO trees, except the one that the church had blocked off so we wouldn’t be able to ruin it in all of our Daisy-frenzy.

The Daisies made Christmas tree ornaments with a wish inside–Luci asked how to spell “pony.”  Good luck with that, Luci, I’m doing good to have a hamster.


Bird feeder made with peanut butter and birdseed, decorate a paper sack with scrap paper, make Christmas cards for a nursing home.  What on earth does this have to do with Christmas celebrations around the world?  I did love the Christmas cards for the nursing home…that was a sweet, sweet thing for the kids to do.  But really?


I guess I am getting too old for this stuff.  I would have had so much fun finding things from around the world for them to learn.  (ssshhhh….don’t let them know, I really am happy not being any busier than I am!)


And why does this camera say we did all our activities in the early, pre-dawn hours?  I’ll never know.