Sunday, March 26, 2006

Class Trip

Thursday and Friday we took 42 of the 44 fifth graders to Tallahassee for their annual trip. We had almost as many parents along, which made it really fun. Honest! The kids were great, and we received many compliments on their behavior. I'd take them on a road trip again any time...

We ran through rain on the way down, but it had stopped by our first stop. Still overcast, but do-able. We went to Wakulla Springs State Park for a boat ride down - and back up - the river. Saw a few gators (why do 5th graders go ga-ga when they see a gator on a trip?), lots of vultures (they congregate along the river in the winter, sort of like black snow birds), the usual river birds, and a half dozen black crowned night herons. That was special! We also went to the Leon County Nature Center on Thursday. They have a good display of live Florida animals and birds, and great docents. I think the kids learned a great deal.

The high point for Thursday was the all-you-can-eat buffet and the trip to Governor's Square Mall in the evening. The kids got to wear their casual clothes, i.e., no uniforms. We stayed at the Cabot Lodge - nice, nothing fancy.

On Friday we had a tour of the Old Legislative Building. Lots of good stuff for kids to explore, including an interactive presentation where the 5th graders sat as representatives and "voted" on an education bill. We toured to 22 story new legislative building -- not a lot of character, but it gets the job done. The 4.5 hour trip home gave me a good opportunity to get to know some of the parents (and a granddad) that I did not know well.

1 comment:

B said...

It's so nice when the kids are well-behaved, isn't it? Looks like you guys had a great time.