Really Cold Field Trip

Oh my goodness, we have a busy week this week! But, a fun one.

Gracie's First Grade class had their second (and last) field trip of the year today--and mommy got to be a chaperone (thanks to Grandma).

The classes rode the bus to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens this morning, while I, and many other parents attempted to follow behind them.

I had a super bag packed--prepared for just about anything--except the freezing temperatures!

Okay, I am sure it wasn't 30 degrees, but it was super cold.

When the kids arrived they were divided by classes, and the classes divided into smaller groups with either the teacher or parent volunteers.

I had Gracie, her best friend Lilly, Nicky & Matt in my group.

We had to go off and explore for quite a while until it was Miss. Anderson's classes turn to get their plant lesson from the garden staff.

My group was...umm...rowdy. The kids were great, seriously, but those boys didn't stop long enough to look at their feet moving a mile a minute--much less a plant! I attempted to get them to examine all of the things around them, but mostly my direction included: "stop running," "please don't be so loud," "another picture!" "stop running, please!" Most of these "directions" were met with giggles and they would slow down for a few minutes...well, seconds. At one point I asked Nicky (the most active) "Nicky, do you wear your mother out?" He just gave me the boy look I am learning to recognize and casually said "yep."


We made our way to the observatory, and let me say "wow!!" It was so beautiful in there--what I was able to see of it. The boys were not impressed, but they were starting to get more used to stopping for me to snap pictures.


And, not only was the observatory breath taking--it was warm in there!

After rushing through the most beautiful plants I have ever seen, and promising Gracie we would definitely come back another time--without boys--we were back out in the cold again.

We managed to see more trails and stay busy with the kids favorite spot--jumping the large stone rocks that went over the water. (Yes, my group finds this gem of a spot within the first 5 minutes we are exploring, and I use this activity to bribe them to behave and see other parts of the gardens..."if you will quietly and slowly go through this trail we haven't seen, we will go back to your favorite spot before we go "x.")

We were late getting back to for the lesson, oops. But, I don't think they missed much. The garden volunteer had the kids do all sorts of things that got their hands dirty. I had to laugh and laugh about how most of Gracie's class freaked out about this. Seriously! Most of them refused to dig up a plant (what we would call a weed) in a large open grassy area. They didn't get away with not participating, and I made a comment that I had wipes. Well, I held back my laughter when I was rushed by several kids hands open!!


The volunteer disappointed them all when she said they weren't done getting dirty yet, and to wait.

After the "digging" the kids examined the plants they got, and moved on to learning how to pick a flower. They took their flower and removed parts and learned about bees and pollen and seeds and such. We went on to talk about what parts of plants we eat, and how each plant is different, and then the kids each planted an onion bulb (more dirt).

After planting they got to take part of a plant and use it as a clipping. Each child brought home their clipping in a little tube of water to watch it grow roots.

Finally it was lunch. I say finally, because all of the kids kept asking when lunch would be and saying how hungry they were. Not that it seemed to matter, because those kids scarfed their food down in seconds!

After lunch our groups went out to do more exploring before they could return to the kids area for play time.

This of course was the favorite time of the trip--the play time. The gardens have a HUGE tree house, a large mulberry tree for climbing, a sand box, and so much more.


The kids ran from one spot to the next. But, they were gracious enough for me to snap some group pictures without too much fuss.

I think I was the only parent with a camera, so I am glad I took as many as I did. I will have to put them all together for the teacher, and other moms and dads who may want them.

The kids got about 30 minutes to play and then they had to load up the bus.

That's when the warm sun came out.

Typical, huh?

It was a fun trip, and I am so glad that Grandma came in to help me this week. Thomas would not have done well for the trip, and it was way too cold. So, I would have missed out on all the fun.

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