Yesterday, Melrose Leadership Academy visited Castro Valley's Pumpkin Patch. This informal field trip has become a activity for our two kindergarten classes since we began meeting in January of 2009. This "field trip" was organized on-line group and in the school hallway. For the field trip, we met on a Sunday morning, and while not everyone could attend, more parents and siblings bonded than we would have during a work week.
As a credentialed teacher, I know that field trips are important. Field trips are educational and memorable. AND, field trips are scary and tiring. Parent groups may be able to help teachers more by organizing "weekend field trips."
Melrose Leadership Pumpkin Patch Field Trip - Images by bryan farley
Most parents do not understand how much preparation is required for a regular school day. Field trips require even more planning. Organizing kids is difficult enough at school. Trying to watch them at a pumpkin patch or zoo or museum... not to mention how field trips disrupt the following days.
The weekend field trips give the teachers a rest and allow the families to bond. Grandparents visited. Little brothers and sisters attended, and even one staff member brought her little child. Families could arrive late and leave early, especially when we noticed our children were starting to get cranky. Much has changed since those first planning meetings and the first day of school.
Comments