Yesterday was a really good day. I got to go with Kaden and his class on their field trip. We were gone all day and we went to two different places; a natural history museum and a garden. I got to see Kaden in action with his buddies and it was great. His teacher put all the "mom helpers" in charge of 4 kids. I had Kaden, one of his best buddies, and two sweet girls that I didn't know. It was a great group. 2nd graders are so fun; big enough to be responsible and somewhat mature, but small enough that the girls liked to hold my hand and little things still made them very excited.
We ripped through the museum in 20 seconds flat. There was an amazing gem stone exhibit that I would have liked to linger over, but that was not to be. The most exciting part for the kids was the diorama of shirtless Native Americans. This caused quite the commotion for all those little 8 year olds. =)
After our whirlwind museum excursion we ate lunch outside on the big lawn surrounding the museum. It was a beautiful day and we were cooled by huge trees that gave great shade. I loved to watch Kade play with his friends. They started a game of tag and it was fun to watch him interact with his peers, running and laughing. If you have kids, you know what I mean. Little glimpses into what your kiddo is all about and how grown up they are becoming. The funniest thing for me was to see the difference between the boys and the girls. The girls played hand clapping games and sang songs. They laughed and giggled and sat in big circles. They boys play- fought and shoved, they dared each other to run to a certain point or to climb trees. With my three wild boys, I am not used to girl things. I hope Lucy is in to such things, it hase been a while since I got to sing "Say Say Oh Playmate" with anyone. They were both so cute and sweet.
At the gardens it was hot hot hot! By this point everyone was getting tired so a stroll in a beautiful garden was just the thing. The kids found a snake and had a GREAT time harassing it. They dared each other to touch it, but no one could catch it. Their favorite thing was the pond with all the coy fish. They all scrounged around looking for fish food that had fallen on the board walk and then fed it to the fish. Kade found a dragonfly wing. He was very proud of it.
On the way home, Kade and a few other kids fell asleep. I remember if someone fell asleep on a field trip when I was a kid this was a big deal. Apparently things haven't changed. It was quite exciting, I guess, that there were people actually asleep on a bus! Our bus driver was pretty funny. Most of the other bus drivers I have met are a little on the grumpy side, but this guy told jokes and played classical music. I think he really liked being a bus driver.
All in all it was an A+ day! I had a great time and loved that I could spend the day with Kaden. It is fun as my kids are getting older to share stuff like this with them. Next week there is another all day field trip planned, but I can't go and I am a little bummed. Oh well, there is always next year.