Today was a big day in our household. For the first time ever, I was able to go on a field trip with my daughter’s class. When I was teaching high school I never had the opportunity to chaperone the girl’s trips as I was always working at the same time. I have chaperoned many high school trips but I have never had the opportunity to hang out with the little ones. BIG day!!!
So, I headed on over to Starbucks to fuel myself with the much needed caffeine and then met the rest of the mom and dad volunteers in the school lobby. The excited and energetic five year olds descended upon us and we headed on out to our big adventure.
Organized Chaos in the Lobby
So, what exactly was this incredible adventure that we were embarking on? Alright all you Ottawans- NO laughing. We headed out into the Big Apple to go to the Farmer’s Market to talk to an apple farmer and purchase apples. Yep. That was the trip. Lets put it into perspective. This is Manhattan, we can’t just hop onto a bus and go to a local apple orchard, so we did the next best thing. We hopped on the subway and went to talk to a real live farmer at the farmer’s market (on 97th street) about apple orchards, farming, apple picking, types of apples and of course, what kind of trucks they have on the farm. The kids loved it. My favourite question of the day was “Are the apples kosher?”.
City Kids Going On A Field Trip
Our local farmer (his farm is an hour and half outside of Manhattan on the river) Matt, was extremely patient with the children and answered every single question. The kids handled themselves beautifully, raising hands and remembering please and thank yous.
Farmer Matt fielding the tough questions...
The highlight of the trip for the students was picking out their very own apple from all of the many apple choices and paying for it with their own money. R insisted that she wanted a ‘golden delicious’ apple and that it had to be the perfect one. We searched and searched for the right apple. She was happy to note that there were no bees. One time while apple picking in the Ottawa Valley she was stung by a bee and apparently has been traumatized by the experience ever since =). Finally… success!
R with her apple in the Big Apple!
The whole trip from start to finish took approximately an hour and a half. The kids were back in school in time for snack and reading buddies. The carefully picked apples will be used to make apple sauce and cider. Sounds like a great way to spend the day to me. I went home to warm my toes and clean the apartment. Makes me wish I was back in kindergarten.
The highlight of the day for me? Holding the hands of my “buddies” and watching the learning moments through their eyes- the inspection of fallen leaves, the excitement of the subway ride, noticing a stuffed monkey up in a tree, picking out the perfect apple, wanting to know what a farmhouse looks like, recognizing the steps they have sat on in front of the museum, the shapes of the clouds, how tall the buildings are, the painted tiles and the list goes on…
Life moves so fast and it was fun to slow down (or speed up) and enjoy the view from a 5 year old’s perspective. The big question is can I have a nap now?? 😉
My buddies- S & R
It's Always An Adventure 
This was a great post and Charlie loved the pics. If we can’t be there in person…at least we get a peek. You were SO good about gettting this down in writing (and pics!) thanks! Happy weekend!