field trip, check!

last week, i got to go with the bean and her class on their very first field trip of the year.  she was super excited to ride the school bus to a local pumpkin patch with her friends, and it was all she talked about for days.  it really is the little things in life, huh?

the school bus driver was running a few minutes behind that morning, so their teacher decided to get all their wiggles out with a little exercise.  i guess this is something they do every day, and it was cute to listen to them sing the songs and move along with their teacher.

and then it was finally time to go.  everyone was pretty excited.

it was a short ride to heritage park in la verne, and every kid thanked the driver as they got off the bus and then got in line to await further instruction.

after checking in, everyone hopped onto the tractor for a fun ride around the park.

there were lots of old things to look at.  luckily their audience was pretty easy to please.

this lady got to take everyone on a walking tour, delivering her spiel to a bunch of 5-year-olds who, despite being on their best behavior and following directions perfectly, weren't listening to a darn thing she said.  i gotta admit, i may have zoned out myself.  it was pretty boring, but it was a beautiful day.  and when they got to the first stop, they perked up considerably.

although the next stop was really bizarre.

yeah, she stood there and talked about the 100-year-old outhouse.  the kids were visibly bored until she started talking about poop, and then they all started giggling.  it was really funny.  and, ew.

lucky for them, the animals here were just for looking at.  they stopped and watched for a while before moving on to the next thing.

photo op!

finally, it was time to pick out a pumpkin to decorate.

there were stickers for the face and glue and yarn to make hair.  this was their favorite part of the trip.

a little lunch:

a bit of play:

one last group shot:

and then it was time to head back to school.

best part of the trip for me?  listening to the bean chat, giggle, and interact with her friends - all without being particularly conscious of my presence.  it was a little bit of a test for me to see how she'd function in class with me around, and she did really well.  maybe now that means i can actually volunteer to help out in her classroom if her teacher needs it.

although with a whopping nine students in her class, i may not be needed anyway.  maybe next year.