First Kindergarten Field Trip

Earlier this week, I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying Lucy and her Kindergarten class on their first field trip of the year. It was a beautiful day, and it's a good thing because we walked from the school to the local fire department. It was a short walk, but it wouldn't have been as pleasant had it been cold and windy. But lucky us, we had warm October sunshine on our side.


Before I go on, let me mention that I almost didn't get to go on the field trip because my background clearance hadn't come through yet when the teacher made up her list of chaperones. Well, when Lucy got wind of this she went into hysterics. There was no way this kid was walking a couple blocks to the fire station without her mama. I'm pretty sure the helpful school secretary expedited my clearance just to shut Lucy up. But not really. As it turned out, I had been cleared the day after the teacher had made the chaperone list, and when she found out she was totally accommodating and added me on at the last minute. I'm glad they have these safety precautions in place, and I'm more than happy to submit to a background check every other year.


I got to school a little bit before it was time to leave, and was treated to observing Lucy's class in action for the first time. They were all singing an extremely energetic rendition of a song about riding a roller coaster, complete with lots of very enthusiastic motions. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched these sweet little kids having the best time at school, and I now have a new found respect for the level of energy Lucy's teacher comes to school with. Holy cow. I was ready for nap time by the end of the song, and I didn't even participate.


Several parents were able to go on the field trip, so I was responsible for looking after Lucy and just one other little girl. This was a breeze, considering that I'm used to four or more, one of them being a very obstinate and sassy two-year old. So two well-behaved girls who held hands and talked nicely to each other the whole time was quite nice.


I love to see my kids within the school environment, interacting with the other kids. I love to put faces with names and to get to know some of the other parents a little bit. I'm so happy I got to go.


The actual fire station visit was pretty short, and well...I've been on three fire station field trips while my kids were in preschool so it's kind of yawn-inducing by this point. But the firemen were friendly and the kids had fun. At least one child was traumatized by the sight of a firefighter decked out in his full fire-fighting garb. Other than that, it was a lot of climbing on rescue vehicles and asking why there wasn't a pole (the fire station we visited is only one floor). Kindergarten excitement is the best. I can't wait until the next field trip.