Field Trips. They can be good, bad, and ugly. And all at once, too!
I was surprised when I asked our Pulse FM Facebook friends how they felt about field trips and every single respondent said they loved going on field trips.
Sometimes, I think I’m the only nerd who likes to get on the bus, sing bus songs and hang out with 30-100 overstimulated children. (Okay, so I don’t sing the songs. My kids have asked me to stop.)
School buses can get loud and there are definitely odour issues, especially when travelling on a warm day or with those tween kids. And they aren’t the most comfortable. You’ll hear things you wish you hadn’t, and the acoustics may cause a headache.
If you’re driving the kids in your own vehicle a few thoughts may go through your head. You may, understandably, feel nervous about transporting other people’s kids on the open road. Or you may feel nervous when you go to turn on the radio. (Did you turn off the gangster rap?!) I have had children who ask me why my car is dirty or share their parents’ thoughts on minivans (“dorky”). Precious little ones.
But all in all, field trips are a chance to hang out with your child in a different element. You may not be directly hanging out with them, of course. But it’s fun to see how they interact with their friends (and how underpaid our teachers really are). It’s also a good insight into how their friends act. Getting to know our kids’ peers is very important, and as they get older, it’s much more difficult!
And no one can deny that no matter how you feel about the opportunity to go on field trips – it does come to an end. You may loathe tying up children’s skates or holding the umbrella at the nature centre, but you only get a few chances to do it in the grand scheme of things. And we need you! Field trips often get cancelled because of lack of parent supervision/volunteers (I guess there’s been a million lawsuits, so it seems that we need to keep the kids under a microscope these days…). So enjoy it while you have the option to. There are lots of parents who just cannot attend field trips as well, due to work commitments.
Feel guilty yet? Check yes on the box and take your seat on that smelly bus, and don’t think too much about what that sticky spot is.
-Jen
#ThatSurreyMom
@jenxrobbins