summer

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Field trip Tomorrow and That's all for 2 weeks!

This will be the last post. .. 

For two weeks. .. 

I just have to stay away because I have assessments, {and checking them, :( }, report cards, and just wrapping up the end of the year. 

So IF you see me here, or on FB, any games, or on Instagram, please gently sternly tell me to get back to work!

Let me fill you in a few things.

First, my mom hasn't been so well lately. I'm pretty worried about her and have spent the last two weekends with her and dad.  Mom had a rough winter and got pretty sick. She pulled through and is doing ok now. She can walk, cook, drive, etc. But she is slowing down and her kidneys are failing. I'm just not sure how long she'll be with us. She is 90, but until this winter acted like she was 60. 

Second, we are going on our field trip tomorrow. Not sure how your school works, but field trips were cancelled because of no money. But the trip we take doesn't cost the students anything. So our parent organization is paying for the bus mileage and driver fee. 

We are going to Lake Michigan. This is about an hour and a half drive. There is a State Park there with a nice big sand dune to climb. (gosh, I'd love to post pictures here tomorrow, but I really shouldn't. . . hmmmm. . .) 

The kids do not swim, but we do a lot of other things.  First of all, getting to see one of the Great Lakes is something many of our students have never done. And Secondly (didn't I say that already?) seeing a land form such as a sand dune is something they also haven't seen.

We will climb the hill and roll down in the sand. We'll take walks and explore or do scavenger hunts. We also fly kites and explore wind energy. The best part is exploring architecture! This is our way of saying we play in the sand. The kids try to build castles and other structures to see how stable they are. Does the wind knock them down, did a wave sabotage it?  How tall can you get it? Can you make a drip castle? {I'm justifying how play really does work into important skills for life!} How deep can you dig? Can you bury your friend except for their head?

I'm really excited to go on this trip. Almost every year we worry about the weather. But tomorrow the forecast is for sunny and about 68 degrees. However, it's always windy near the lake, so I know it will feel cooler! 

To make the bus ride seem not so bad, we prepare a clipboard for each seat on the bus. Two kids will share this clipboard.

 Each clipboard has two Tic Tac Toe and 
Dot to Dot games on it.
They also have a word search puzzle and 
two blank pages to draw on.
I grab some spares just in case!

This crate of books will be slid back and forth down the aisle so they can read books if they choose to.

All of these things help to pass the time on the bus ride. What do you do on your bus rides?

Ok, that's it. . . see you after June 13th! You know that I will miss you!

Patty

7 comments:

  1. Love the dunes. I took my family last summer. We climbed to the top and ran down. Thrilling. Hope you have a wonderful day and that your mom gets to feeling better soon.
    Alyce

    Mrs. Bartel’s School Family

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  2. Love the idea for the bus- the book basket is too clever! I'll be hoping your mom is feeling better... have a good last two weeks and get to work! (Do feel free to draw me pictures on our game though... quickly!)

    :)
    Christina
    *Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge*

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  3. Sounds like you're journeying to my backyard! My school is close to the riverwalk. No dunes to climb, but it's beautiful and has a meeting room where the rangers do activities. Enjoy your day at the dunes!

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  4. Ohh I like the clipboard idea for the bus! We have a very long bus ride for a field trip next week and I may just use this idea!

    Sara :)
    Smiling In Second Grade

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    Replies
    1. I'm sure you'll have a better trip if the kids are actively doing something. Here's a couple more tips: Sharpen many extra pencils. Ours kept braking. I used to tie them with string to the clipboards, but they too tangled that way. If you look close you might see the way I taped them to the board. That worked much better.
      We also bring a crate of books that the kids slide up and down the aisle when someone wants them.
      On the way home we bring them a snack of crackers and a juice pack. That helps to keep them from STARVING!(Be sure to have and extra for the bus driver!) Bring along a garbage bag to pick up your trash so the bus driver doesn't have to clean up your mess. And as always be sure that your kids tell the bus driver Thank You on the way off the bus.
      I hope this helps!
      Patty

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  5. Just checking in and hoping all is well...

    :)
    Christina

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  6. What a fun trip you have planned. The kids will love it.

    I'll be praying for your Mom's health. It's so hard to watch them their strength dissipate. I lost my mom last fall at 94, but she was blind, deaf and had dementia. We really lost the mom we knew many months before that.

    Enjoy the field trip. Wishing you the energy to finish those last 2 weeks STRONGLY!

    Jill
    a-little-red-wagon

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