Field Trip Post-Mortem
Chaperoned.
A third grade field trip.
And survived.
Was responsible for a group of four girls, including my daughter.
We decided to name our group “The HPs” (for “The Harry Potters,” The Girl is obsessed with all things Potter). When we went from one exhibit in the Boston Museum of Science to another, we formed the Hogwarts Express, and wound our way through the halls.
Then our group — along with the other third grade classes — took Duck Tours around the city of Boston, where an open, bus-like vehicle takes passengers to see landmarks by land and via the Charles River. Our tour guide wore pajama bottoms. And bright red sneakers. And was quite charismatic.
When we finally arrived back at the school, I was relieved that no one had gotten lost, injured or was panicked by the jarring electricity/lightning show.
Unfortunately, The Eldest Son, who also went on the same trip, was upset because his father didn’t get picked as a chaperone from among the parents’ who’d applied for the job. (I’ve only chaperoned once — for a trip to a farm with the Youngest Boy’s kindergarten class last year — and The Spouse hasn’t gone on a trip yet, though we’d hoped we’d both be able to do it this time.) The Spouse promised that he’d make it up to him. Maybe when they walk in historic steps along the Freedom Trail on a future trip.
While my chaperoning experiences were spared any melodramatic theatrics, have you ever had anything interesting happen when you’ve accompanied your kids on field trips?
Local mom and author Meredith O'Brien gives you a peek behind the picket fences of modern day parenting. With humor and candor, it's her take on real parenting in the real world.
Good timing on this post, as I was just asked this morning to accompany my 4-year-old’s preschool class on a field trip to a farm. I work fulltime, and was surprised to be asked since I assumed some of the stay-at-home parents would volunteer. In fact, only one couple (both mom and dad) have volunteered, which technically fills the “two parents needed” requirement. However, the teachers are worried that this particular child would monopolize the parents, who then would not be much help with the rest of the group.
I need to take the preceding day off from work to attend the “end of the year” party in the same class room, and another day off the following week due to a half day on the start of the new year’s program, PLUS bring my daughter to the back-up daycare center provided by my employer for two days before that due to the school actually being closed. Thus 4 days in a span of 6 when I will have to alter my life to accommodate her school schedule. Adding the field trip would have made it 5 days. Granted, everyone is in the same boat, these events affect all of us. I guess it was poor planning to schedule a field trip on top of an already busy week.
And yet I still wish I could go along, but I can’t. It’s too much to manage (I haven’t mentioned yet that I also have a 5-month-old with his own daycare -separate, of course- arrangements to consider!). So I haven’t even considered how hard it would be to manage all of these children around animals!
Comment by LilMisBusy — May 28, 2008 @ 11:50 am