A Great Day for a Field Trip

Turtle on a log

The Friday before school got out, Chi and I both got to accompany the Second Little Nguyen's Kindergarten class to Durant Nature Park.   I always loved taking my first graders here, and it brought back a lot of memories of those days.  But, for the first time, I wasn't the one that had to be in charge!  I kind of liked the role reversal.



With a few friends, listening to Mr. Jim

Two of his (many) current love interests!



One tiny little frog!

First, the class listened to the guide, Mr. Jim, talk about some of the animals they might see while on their visit.  Then, the class got to dig around and get dirty.  They used nets to "sift" through the muck, bringing globs of mud, sticks, moss and leaves to the shore.  Then, they picked it apart with sticks in search of frogs, tadpoles, bugs, and fish.  Here is a pic of Mrs. Taylor, the teacher's assistant, showing them how it's done!

Ms. Taylor, doing the teaching...

   

and Mommy, happily letting her do it!

 

Find a good, sturdy stick for digging
The First Little Nguyen and his buddies found all sorts of tiny frogs, more than a few tadpoles, and even got to see some little fish.  Mostly, I think, they just loved exploring and digging around in the mud!  Oh, and it couldn't have been five minutes after our arrival before one of the kinders asked, "Is it lunchtime yet?"  Lunch -- the highlight of every field trip!

 Thomas and Harry, best buddies enjoying their lunch!

 

A hot, but happy, smile.



After a scavenger hunt/nature hike, the class played on the playground and ran around in the sunshine.  They were hot and sweaty by the time we all headed back toward the buses!  Of course, little did they know, this was great timing because a surprise balloon toss was about to begin.  One of the dads had spent the evening prior to the field trip filling up over 100 little water balloons for some field trip fun!  We were surprised at how many of them had no idea how to toss a balloon and catch it.  After a little demonstration by Mr. & Mrs. Nguyen, the kinders got down to business!



Here comes one!

 

And another one bit the dust!

  

He actually caught this one.



Ready to catch.  Getting the hang of this now!

 

Sweet little L. B.  Another of his love interests.

It was a rare treat for the Second Little Nguyen to have both Mommy and Daddy go on his field trip!  Although field trips are always fun no matter if you are the teacher or the parent, I was secretly glad that, after seeing the children off on the yellow school bus, Chi and I got to go have lunch together and relax!  That was a field trip for us!