Out In The Field

With the help of two very accommodating grandmothers, I was able to accompany Connor on his second grade field trip to the Detroit Science Center this week. I rode on the bus with him, and I love riding on the bus, not because it is comfortable but because I'm not driving. I can text people or write blog posts on my iPod while eavesdropping on Connor's conversations with his friends. And I don't have to use my gas or worry about missing my exit and getting lost in the ghetto, because you know, sometimes even your GPS can't save you. I almost always try to go on field trips with my kids because they don't often get me to themselves (I need to work on that...) and also because I love field trips. I myself take my kids on field trips whenever I can; I think getting out in the world is the best way for them to learn. I think perhaps that has a lot to do with my homeschooling fantasy because when I think of homeschooling I think of endless field trips. One thing I love about Bethany and Connor's school is that the teachers take the kids on good field trips.

This time I had only one other kid in my group besides Connor, which was a breeze. After all, I'm used to minimum four (add in the occasional friend or two), one of them being a persnickety toddler and three of them being High Drama. So walking with two well-behaved boys around the Detroit Science Center was a walk in the park, a real pleasure. They kept us pretty busy all day with shows and demonstrations, which was great, but we also had plenty of time to look around and play with the hands on exhibits. We saw an IMAX movie about dolphins, and I hardly had to close my eyes. It was really interesting, and it really made me want to go to a tropical island and swim in translucent turquoise waters. We saw two demonstrations, one about electricity and one about living green, and they were both interactive and lots of fun. Then we ended our visit with a show about engineering, which sounds boring but wasn't. We were in the Toyota Engineering Theater, which has crazy moving, water spraying (more like misting) seats. It was kind of like being on a simulator ride. 

If you haven't been to the Detroit Science Center, you should go. I can't wait to go back with Lucy and Mattie so we have an excuse to go in the 5 and under area, Kids Town, which looked pretty cool. I'd also like to see their special dinosaur exhibit they've got going on right now (through early September).

In the jam room

Goofy kid