NYR 6-2-14

Today I chaperoned a 5th grade field trip to the Natural History Museum in DC.  To get to the museum, we had to walk 0.7 mile from the school to the Metro station (that's right above our apartment building), ride the Metro for about 20 minutes, and walk a couple blocks to the museum.

A few points on this outing:

1.  This was Mac's final field trip of elementary school.  Sigh.  Do they take field trips in middle school?

2.  Parents had to show up early for an information session.  The trip was really well-scheduled and very well-planned so you knew exactly where you were supposed to be at any time.  I got a good giggle from the parents whose greatest angst about the trip was how to use the Metro. A lot of these folks obviously are not the public transit-using sort.

3.  Another mother and I were in charge of our "pod" of 5 kids - 2 boys and 3 girls - who were really, really good and well-behaved.  We got lucky. 

4.  Riding the Metro didn't make me nervous.  What made me nervous was my fear that the children were going to have to complete worksheets inside the museum to make sure they were paying attention, but there was nothing to do except enjoy the museum.  This, to me, may be the thing that surprises me most about this uber-intense school: they just let the kids wander the museum without attaching any work to the experience.  Wow!

5. Mac originally told me he hoped he was put in a group that wasn't chaperoned by me - knife to the heart - but all kids were put with their parents.  It appears I didn't do anything to embarrass him and we had a great time together.

6.  It was really cool to see him interact with his classmates over the course of hours.

For this great day with Mac, I am truly thankful.