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Lost in space...
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12 June 2002
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It was a field trip day today. I love having field trips, and the kids, of course, are always ecstatic about leaving the school. It's a lot of work, though! ;-)
First I have to make sure that I have all the permission slips. If a student doesn't bring one in, s/he does not go. It doesn't matter if Mom or Dad wrote a quick little note saying, "We can't find the permission slip, but Johnny is allowed to go on the field trip." Nope, doesn't work that way! The permission slip itself needs to be filled out. On this is the family's doctor's number, parent's legal signature allowing us to take the student off the school grounds, etc. It's a legal piece of paper. Many times we are berated for not letting Johnny go when I sent a note to school! Sorry, Charlie...
Now, making sure everyone has a permission slip is only step one to making sure that everyone is where they need to be. You see, parents are always encouraged to come along as chaperones. This means that some students will be riding in cars with their parents, and some students and parents will be riding on the bus with the rest of us. Therefore, it's always a little chaotic in the morning trying to figure out if I have everybody that I need. I literally stand there and count heads, then use my fingers to acccount for the missing students. Johnny is driving with his dad. Susie went with her mom. Tommy couldn't go. So on, and so forth. Yep, it's a crazy world!
Then I have to make sure that I have all the meds for the students who need them - Ritalin/another brand, inhalers, etc. I put them in my bag, and I let the appropriate students know that I have them so they won't be worried.
The bus ride comes next. Oh yeah. Bus drivers are a breed of their own. The patience they must have to be able to do that day in and day out! I go bonkers in just one day. I usually sit back and relax and try to let myself let all the loud talking and noises of the games roll off my back. I just have to keep an eye on any kid who might be standing or moving or in the aisle. I wish that buses had seatbelts so that I wouldn't have to worry about kids staying in their seats! Heheh.
Let's not forget about the kids that turn green. We have a bag of bags with us on every trip for the students who get sick. And yes, we have had students get car sick while driving the roads the wind their way down around the mountains. That's always a pleasure!
By the time we get to our destination, we are always ready to get off that bus. The kids' excitement is great to see! No matter the destination, the students always seem to enjoy it.
Our field trip today was to the IMAX theater to watch the film Space Station. We were excited for the kids to see it because it was just so darn cool! How else can you say it? It is a cool flick! It's 3-D, hosted by Tom Cruise, and filled with all kinds of interesting gadgets. Not to mention it's in space...on the space station!
We arrived with about thirty minutes to spare, so we let the kids have a snack. We had told them to not bring any money because we didn't want them buying snacks and popcorn at the snack stand. So, we sat on the bus for a bit and ate a snack. (The bus drive was none too happy that we allowed them to eat on the bus. *gasp!*) We asked them to be very neat about it and hold onto their garbage until someone came around to collect it. They did a GREAT job at that, those little munchkins!
One of the other teachers got off the bus to let the people know that we were there, and came back with unfortunate news. The film was delayed 45 minutes to an hour. The group before us had wanted snacks, so they opened the snack bar. They had to prepare the popcorn and get the soda machines ready, yada yada yada. This all meant that the show for them started late. Thank you so much! We let the kids know. It was too little time to go to a park, and it was too much time to sit on the bus. So, we told them that they could go play on the grass in front of the IMAX theater.
Flexibility is the key to teaching, right?
It was hot. We were in Palm Springs, and it was hot hot hot hot hot! We were standing outside watching the kids play, and we were hot! We let them play for a long time (some are not accustomed to having grass to play on), and finally it was our turn to watch our film. (Had the group before us been watching the same flick, we would have just asked to watch it with them, but they were watching Ocean Oasis, which we had already seen this year.)
The kids LOVED the film! Before it started, another teacher (Patsy) had her college-aged daughter take a picture of all of us with our big ol' 3-D glasses on! They are Elton John kind of big! Heheheh.
The beginning credits began to roll, and the kids were alreayd Oooooing and Ahhhhhing. Good golly! If they were excited about the credits, just imagine them during the film!
Although the material might have been a little over their heads, we knew that the experience of the space station would be good for them. They loved it! They kept reaching out and trying to touch the things the appeared to be right in front of us (with the 3-D glasses). Much fun was had by all!
It was a good trip, and we are glad that we decided, even at the last minute, to take them! We already have some students talking about becoming astronauts. Yay!
2 school days left!
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