Emma's class had a field trip this week to Heard Museum, and of course I volunteered to be a chaperon. I really enjoy going on these excursions, being with my kids and getting a small glimpse of their world outside of our home. Plus the girls still enjoy having old mom around (which I know those days are numbered!).
Volunteers had to be at the school before departure to get instructions and to get our group assignments. I took one look at the four kids that were assigned to me and knew I was going to need a drink by noon. There was one child on my list, which we'll refer to as "Alex", who I am constantly hearing my daughter come home saying "Alex got in trouble again." I got pulled aside and was informed that Alex wanders so I'll need to keep a close eye on him/her.
Several parents and myself carpooled to the Museum. On the way, we shared how many kids were in our groups. Everyone, but me, had 1 or 2 kids in addition to their own child to chaperon. I, on the other hand had a total of 4 kids in my group.....good grief...does this teacher hate me!?!
The museum had a small display of rocks, bugs and dinosaur bones. It takes all of 15 minutes to go through, or at least that is what it took my group. The remaining 4 hours could be spent enjoying nature and hiking. I soon discovered that "Alex" appeared to be a bit ADD. My kids wanted to race each other down the path, and guess who led the pack.....that's right, "Alex." I quickly had to devise a plan to at least keep Alex within eyesight, because let's face it, I'm 40, out of shape and have short legs. The deal was that if Alex couldn't see my eyes, then Alex was too far ahead and had to stop and wait for us. So Alex would race ahead, pause, jog in place look at my face then take off again. If you were a visitor at the park during our field trip there was no enjoying the tranquility of nature, my voice could be heard for a half mile radius!
Tactic #2 had to be put in place. I slid my sunglasses into place and issued a challenge that Alex had to tell me what color my eyes were by the end of the day, in hopes that it would slow the kid down. Bottom line is that we sprinted 5 1/2 miles of hiking trails before noon! I kept teasing Alex that he/she was my new BFF. By the last half mile, my speed demons seemed to have lost their steam and I could finally catch up.
The kids wrote the chaperons thank you notes. Alex's was the sweetest, asking me to attend the next field trip with him/her, which included a drawing of a big old heart. Surely if I can survive the wilderness with my new BFF, Alex, than I can handle anything else that comes our way.
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