3rd Grade Field Trip

 Today was my turn to go on Kaleb's 3rd grad field trip with him! I wasn't originally planning on going because another parent beat me at signing up to volunteer but then another parent canceled and I was able to go and fill in. I was thankful for the opportunity to go with Kaleb because for the past two years only room moms were able to go. I am sure poor Kaleb has felt jipped the past few years. So when I found out I could go, I jumped at the chance.

Kaleb's field trip started when we left the school around 9:15 and we returned around 2:30 in the afternoon. We traveled by school bus to the Museum of Natural History where we were welcomed, briefed and then allowed to explore throughout the Facility. I was assigned to look after 3 of Kaleb's classmates and Kaleb was thrilled when he found out his good friend Lukas was in our group.

 The kids and I took our time and made our way around to several exhibits. There are like 3 floors that you can explore. We saw native american pottery, baskets, totem poles, fossils, dinosaur bones and displays of dinosaurs.

 After visiting the dinosaur exhibit and the native american exhibit we headed over to "The Chocolate" exhibit which was an entire display dedicated to educating the kids on where chocolate comes from, how it is made, and the different kinds of chocolate. My favorite display was the life size box of Chocolates the kids could stand in front of! I wished it wasn't made of plastic because the Chocolates looked so real you could just take a bite out of it. Our mouths were salivating too because throughout the room you could smell chocolate. I am sure this helped promote chocolate sales in their chocolate candy store at the end of the tour. It worked on me and my kids I was chaperoning, so as a surprise, I bought them each a truffle as we left the facility. I received some brownie points with Kaleb's classmates for that!

After touring the Museum we went to one of their cafeteria's to eat lunch and visit. After lunch we headed out to the Red Butte Gardens that are right on site for a hike with several other groups.

Our tour guide Lauren, was a cute girl from Massachusetts and did a great job of teaching the kids about the different vegetation in the Utah mountains. A favorite of mine was the desert sage and seeing and touching a plant called Lamb's ear. It is a plant that is incredibly soft to the touch. We also learned about a bitter bush that had little pods that you could eat but were bitter. I didn't try it after watching the kids eat it and spit it out. Apparently, it was Bitter! Hee hee. The Bitter bush was made into a tea and the Indians used to drink it for medicinal purposes. We also saw a magpie nest, and lots of wild flowers along the trails. We also saw an old pioneer house in the canyon that used to be a quarry keepers home. The canyon that we hiked through has provided a lot of the stone that was used to build the Salt Lake City Temple. I love history lessons!

Our tour guide led us down a trail called Rattle Snake pass and it was quite exciting for the kids. They all were scared we would see a rattlesnake along the way because of the history of the trail being filled with rattlesnakes. Seems like a dumb idea to take little 3rd graders through a place like that but um, okay. I was worried about the kids too but the hike turned out great and we didn't have one student get bit or see a rattlesnake. Thank goodness.

Since Its been in the high 80's all week and it was toasty. I am glad that I brought several frozen bottles of water with Kaleb and I because some of the kids in Kaleb's class were not prepared and were getting sick because it was so hot. The hike was also not a simple hike and was quite difficult for most of the 3rd graders. They were all troopers though and I am proud of all the kids for making it through. I had so much fun hiking with Kaleb. It was fun to reach the top and take a few pictures of us and the Salt Lake City Valley. Kaleb expressed wanting to do the hike again with Mark and Karmindy at a later date. We had a great time and I am thankful I got to spend the day with my sweet boy!

Kindergarten Field Trip to Farm Country

Today I spent my morning with my baby girl on her first field trip! Her kindergarten class had the opportunity to go to Thanksgiving Point and visit Farm Country. I volunteered to be a chaperon and I am glad I did! We left around 9 am and returned back to the school around 12:15. During our 3 hour jaunt to Farm Country we got to go on a wagon ride, pet cows, horses, see rabbits, ducks, pigs, pet a baby lamb, eat lunch and play at a park. The field trip was jammed pack with fun activities! I was assigned to look after two of Karmindy's classmates/friends to be in our group: Eden Dressen and Presley Fisher. The girls had fun palling around with each other. Karmindy also hung out with her friend Jake Simmonds who is in the morning Kindergarten class. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go with Karmindy and see her have a fun time on her field trip with her friends.

Kaleb's School Field Day!

At Kaleb's Elementary School, they have what they call Field day. Each class does some outdoor activity to celebrate the end of the school year. This year, Kaleb's 1st grade class focused on "Going to Camp." Leading up to Field Day, Kaleb's darling teacher focused on a different activities for each day that pertained to camp. Each activity focused on giving the kids a "Summer Camp-like" experience. On Tuesday, May 29th, I volunteered to go and help in Kaleb's class and assist the kids in Tie Dying T-Shirts. Kaleb's class Nickname for camp was Mrs. Forman's Frogs, so they died their shirts Green. It was such a fun activity and the kids were so hyper with excitement. It was so fun to see how each shirt turned out. Each one was so original. The day before (Monday), the kids made their own binoculars and visors. Tuesday, the kids made their tie died shirts.Wednesday, they made dirt cups with chocolate pudding and worms and had a reading day under the stars. Mrs. Forman had stars hanging from the classroom ceiling and the kids were allowed to bring books, blankets, a stuffed animal and pillows from home. On Thursday, they made a Critter Cage for all of the bugs they might catch on their "hike" to the park. 

 Friday was field day and I was able to go and volunteer. On field day, we "hiked" to a near by park where the kids competed in relay races, had water fights, enjoyed playing on the playground equipment and enjoyed eating snacks. 

 Here is Kaleb competing in a relay race.

Kaleb sitting by his friend Lina, also found out later that they are 3rd cousins! Who knew!? I think there are some similarities!! :) Lina's Mom and Me are 2nd cousins! :) I Lina's mom on this day and will record later about our fun/weird meeting.

Kaleb had a super fun time with his classmates. It was fun to visit with the other parents and get to know Kaleb's classmates better.

Here is Kaleb's 1st grade class. Can you find Kaleb? Hint: He is standing in the upper left hanging onto the playground equipment.

PreSchool Field Trip: Wheeler Farm

Karmindy's Pre-School Class went to Wheeler Farm for one last field trip before school let out for the summer. Karmindy's teacher, Mrs. Heather, plans and executes the cutest things for her class. When Karmindy learned that she was going to be going to Wheeler Farm, she was ecstatic. Karmindy has always had a special connection to animals and you can truly tell that she has love for them!!
Before the field trip, each of her classmates got to make their very own visor. Karmindy chose a pinkish-purple color for hers, which doesn't surprise me. Pink and Purple are her favorite colors at the moment. On the day of the field trip, Mrs. Heather sat them down, explained some rules and then gave each student a lanyard with a little book and pen on it so that eat child could cross off what animals and things they saw at the farm.

The kids had such a fun time site seeing and learning about each animal on the farm. A favorite of Karmindy's was when her class got to feed the ducks.

 I was able to tag along with her class and provide an extra pair of hands and it was fun for me to see Karmindy have a great time with her friends. After checking out all the sites, we headed back to the park on site and let the kids eat lunch and play. Karmindy really enjoyed going on her field trip to Wheeler Farm.

Karmindy with a few of her friends (LtR) Avery Hawkins, Karmindy, Madison Jackman, Emila Pidcok