Today I am Thankful for Fall Field Trips

This week I have had the distinct pleasure of accompanying two of my children on their school field trips. I love being a field trip chaperone and I'm so excited whenever my kids bring home a permission slip! It's one of the definite perks of being a stay-at-home mom, that I'm generally available to volunteer my time for such a fun purpose. Sometimes it takes a little shuffling to make sure Mathilda is taken care of, but it is so worth the little bit of extra effort.

Mathilda at Westview Orchards

On Tuesday, I went with Mathilda on her very first preschool field trip, to Westview Orchards. In preschool (at our preschool at least), parents or other caregivers always drive their kids to the field trips and stay with them. Therefore, this was my 7th preschool field trip to Westview, and the first one without a baby in tow. Not having a baby with me made the day more simple, for sure, and it was awesome to be able to devote my attention to Mattie. At the same time, I couldn't help but be a little sad that there are no babies to follow in her footsteps! I usually drag along a grandma to make the day even more special, and this year my mom rearranged her work schedule so she could join us.

We had a strange year weather-wise here in Michigan, and it has had a huge effect on many crops. Therefore we weren't able to pick apples this year like we have done every other year. Instead we got to pick pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and that was really fun too! We took a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch, then the wagon took us back and dropped us off by the playground and other activities. We took a big group picture, had lunch, apple juice (no cider this year due to huge mark-ups) and donuts with our preschool friends, and then we were free to explore.

A smart goat at Westview Orchards

Westview has a lot of fun things for the kids, but our favorite is feeding the farm animals. There are animal food dispensers - just put in a quarter and get a big handful of pellets to feed the goats, sheep, and donkeys. This time it occurred to me that I should have brought paper cups to hold the food in. I  must remember that for next year. Sometimes the animals don't seem all that interested in being fed, but on the day we were there they must have been starving, because they all clamored all over each other to get prime spots at the fence. We walked through a barn and saw little baby bunnies, chicks, and goats. They were adorable! Then the piece de resistance was a walk-in pen that we could walk inside to interact more closely with some of the animals. This year the pen was full of nothing but goats, but in the past there have also been cows and sheep. We laughed so hard as the goats jumped all over me trying to get to those food pellets, which must taste a lot better than they look. Mathilda wanted to hold a goat so badly, and kept trying to pick them up. They would scamper away at the last moment and she would wail, "he won't let me!" Which is just as well, since as we were leaving we noticed the sign that said not to pick up the animals. Oops!

When we had our fill of the animals, we washed up and headed over to the maze and playground. The maze is new this year, and it is just the right size for little ones. They can't get lost and the hay bales that it's made of are only stacked about three or four feet high, so you can see them at all times. There is also a terrific playground, which has some unique play structures that the kids just love. When it was time to leave, we went into the shop and bought some donuts to take home for the kids. We had beautiful weather, and an all-around super fun day. The nice thing about driving ourselves to these field trips is that we can leave whenever we want and stay as long as we'd like.

Mattie had so much fun at Westview Orchards!

Fall colors on the Clinton River

The very next day, I went with Connor's fourth grade class on a field trip to Lake St. Clair Metropark. Locals, this park use to be known as Metro Beach, but was recently re-named. Maybe you knew that, maybe you didn't. Anyhow, our day started out with a boat ride down the Clinton River. We would be conducting experiments on the river water. Beforehand, I secretly thought this part of the field trip would be a snoozefest, but it ended up being fun. Seeing how excited the kids were to do all the activities really made the day. I had a good group of kids, and we had a fabulous day together. They learned a little about what kinds of microorganisms can be found in water, how to read nautical charts, making knots, how much dissolved oxygen is in the water, and a lot more. Groups moved around to stations that were lead by no-nonsense ladies from the Michigan State University Extension program. They got all the kids involved and it was a very unique experience. The day was foggy and damp, but we still had some beautiful views of the fall foliage.

We disembarked from the boat at the park and walked over to a picnic pavilion for lunch. Again, the weather ended up being nice. We had time leftover after eating and before we were due at the nature center, so the kids were able to run around like crazy lunatics and blow off some steam. We had the entire area to ourselves, so the kids weren't bothering anyone with their games of freeze tag, their shouts, and their kicking up sand in the volleyball court.

A blue heron at Lake St. Clair Metropark

After playing for a good long while, it was time to go to the nature center. First, we were free to explore. The kids loved seeing the turtles and snakes and frogs and all the other good stuff. We were then treated to a presentation by a very dynamic naturalist, Mr. Nick. He was a lot of fun, he engaged the kids, and he asked for lots of volunteers, which most kids love. Not Connor, but that's okay. He still enjoyed the talk. Mr. Nick then took us outside and led us on a guided nature hike. The kids and I have been there in the past, but having a guide point out all the little details that most of us members of the ignorant masses don't notice was really cool. I can't stress this enough: the kids had so much fun. They saw frogs and turtles and blue herons and deer tracks and poison ivy and so much more. Our guide was a font of wonderful information, and the children just drank it in. They were excited to be learning and to be outside. No one complained, no one dragged their feet and lagged behind, no one even seemed tired at all until they got back on the bus.

This was probably one of the best field trips I've ever chaperoned. I love when there are actually planned activities for the kids, and professionals to interact with them and enrich the experience for them. To me, a field trip to something like the zoo, where all the groups just disperse and meet up for lunch, is just not the same. We love going to the zoo, but unless someone is there teaching the kids something we can't learn from simply reading the signs, I'd rather we go on our own time. I had a teacher tell me one time that some kids will never go to the zoo (or museum, or whatever) unless they go on a field trip, and I get that. So we will still happily attend those types of field trips too, it's just that I definitely prefer something that's more interactive and more of a learning experience.

I am so thankful that I was able to go on field trips with two of my kids this week, and make some really special memories with them. So far, fall has been pretty awesome!

Connor's field trip to Lake St. Clair Metropark

What's your favorite field trip you've ever been on with your kids, or when you were a kid? And what are you thankful for today?