The 1st Field Trip ~or~ My 1st Chaperone Gig

What's the best thing about school?  Field trips, of course!  We had our very first one last week.  We visited the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Celina, TX.  The obvious question is why would we visit a pumpkin patch the week after Halloween?  I don't know the answer, but I do know the kids didn't care.  And they didn't seem to care that it was a chilly, blustery day either.  They could barely contain themselves as they rushed for the buses.

Jake was the last one out - not because he was late.  He was the official door holder.

One advantage to being the last on the bus is you get to sit in the front!

Jake's first field trip was also a first for me -- my first experience as a chaperone.  Woo HOOO!!  Meet my motley crew:  Carlie, Jake and Arav.  The fourth kiddo in the picture is Hunter.  His mom also came along for the ride and they hung out with my group for the day - and thank goodness, because I definitely needed another set of mom-eyes to keep up with my charges.

Even this Mama Longhorn knew I was way out of my league with these crazy kids.

The first thing we did was feed the animals.  Everyone pretty much agreed it was "icky".

The animals didn't seem to mind that no one wanted to hand feed them.  They were perfectly happy to help themselves to the food.

 Next up was a hay ride around the farm.  There was plenty to see, including:

a pyramid of worried pumpkins...

an inquisitive pig...

and a fretful spider.  There were also placards placed along the trail that told the story of Farmer Rick.  Apparently, he left home one day to check on the hay harvest.  When he didn't come home for dinner, Mrs. Farmer Rick got a little concerned.  She went down to the fields to find him, but the farmhands informed her that he hadn't been around for days.  Farmer Rick was never seen again....

Poor Farmer Rick.

The kids got a real kick out of that one.

After the hay ride, it was off to the pumpkin patch.  It rained like crazy on Sunday and Monday, so the fields were a muddy mess.  And for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing the "expansive clay soil" of our parts, well...lets just say these shoes will never be the same.  Yuck!

The kids have been studying the life cycle of the pumpkin in their science unit.  One of the things they were supposed to do in the pumpkin patch was to look for the various stages in that cycle.  Jake found some seeds.

Arav found a vine with a flower.

Carlie found a green pumpkin.

Everybody got to pick an orange pumpkin to take home with them.

The last order of business was a class picture on the old farm truck.  Then it was back to the buses and back to school.  It was a fun day, but I'll admit that I was exhausted when it was all over and done with.  I lost the kids at least a dozen times.  Fortunately, the farm is pretty small and well contained.  Nothing like, say, Arlington National Cemetery where Deanne Basonic and I managed to wander away from our chaperone (aka:  my Mom) and get lost among the gardens of stone.  I won't be volunteering to chaperone that field trip.