Last week, I had yet another major parenting milestone: I chaperoned my very first field trip. It was so much fun, and definitely something I’m going to try and do as much as possible. Here are some thoughts on chaperoning my first field trip:
I’ve been volunteering in Julian’s kindergarten classroom regularly, and have gotten to know the kids in his class pretty well. (In fact, as bad as I am with names, I actually know all 18 kids’ names in his class!) They all call me “Mrs. McCosham” and are so friendly and familiar and sweet.
So I was super confident going into the whole thing; thinking I’ve got this.
Then I rode the bus for the first time in over a decade (and I get super car sick). And one of the kids in my group got stung by a bee (we were pumpkin picking at Iron’s Fruit Farm). And Julian got “attacked” by these little prickly things in the field and they were literally all over his shirt and pants and he had a mini meltdown. And there were four kindergarten classes loose at the farm — and it was a little chaotic!
So, I was perhaps a little overconfident going into the field trip. But after it was all over, I felt really tired, really happy and realized that, with a few preparations, I would own the next field trip.
BYOB (Backpack!)
Chaperones were given a large packet of educational materials to go through with the kids, and I really needed my hands free. I ended up borrowing Julian’s tiny backpack, which barely fit over my coat. I felt silly and it was hard to access what was inside. Next time, I’ll make Julian carry my stuff bring my own, adult-sized backpack.
Remember the tissues, hand sanitizer and baby wipes
Channel your diaper-bag toting days and be sure to being lots of tissues (for snotty noses), hand sanitizer (for dirty hands) and baby wipes (for basically anything and everything. Why are kids always so sticky??).
Bring your camera!
I brought my good camera with me, and really got some fun shots. I took pictures of all the kids in Julian’s class and documented the entire experience. Later that afternoon, I emailed the pictures to his teacher to share with other parents — I know I love seeing pictures of my kids at school!
Don’t forget water
I get really car sick. It’s a total-body nausea that makes me feel utterly horrible, and I’ll have a bad headache the rest of the day from it. The bus was not a pleasant experience for me. Water and Tylenol really, really help.
Field trips are just as fun as an adult as they were when you were a kid. And getting that extra time with your child and their friends is so special. I’ll gladly brave any bus ride for extra Julian-Mommy time.