Yesterday was supposed the greatest and most brilliant field trip ever conceived by a kindergarten and a first grade teacher. We tag teamed this baby. I came up with the theme and she did everything else (thanks, Gayla!) Our field trip was to be centered around the theme of transportation and it was going to be a life-changing event for our young charges (OK, maybe not LIFE CHANGING, but really cool at the very least).
We were going to start off touring the Greyhound bus station, then get picked up from there by a limousine (yes, that’s right, I said LIMOUSINE) and taken to a city bus stop to ride the CAT bus across town (in Bismarck, North Dakota it’s not that long a ride). From there we were going to the municipal airport for another tour and then to the air taxi hanger to get an up-close peek inside a small plane. Does that just scream “educational fun“ or what?!?
That’s what was supposed to happen yesterday. What happened was four inches of slushy, slippery snow by the time I awoke in the morning. With heavy heart I looked out my bedroom window to a white covering on the same driveway that had just finally dried out from thawing snow and mud. Well, how bad can the roads be? BAD!! I slipped, slid, and prayed my way to school. OK, here’s my burning question. If it’s a sunny, beautiful, dry winter day, I must pass 43 snowplows on my way to school in the mornings. Yesterday? Nary a one. Huh? Do they get stored in moth balls after the last day of March? Don’t mean to be hyper critical here….I’m just sayin’…..
So I arrive at school about 7 a.m. and the two-way radio from the buses is already a cacophony of static MAYDAY calls from drivers. One bus in the ditch already, all the rest throwing up Hail Mary’s hoping to stay OUT of the ditch. It’s not looking good for the Field Trip Of The Year. Another phone call comes through. Freezing rain hitting the streets of Bismarck. I’m hearing another nail being driven in the coffin of Gettin’ Out Of Dodge. Mr. Superintendant declares it unsafe to try to go today. Just not worth the risk. Nooooooooooo! So much planning! Such disappointed children! NO PLAN B!!! Could we snowshoe into Bismarck? Or hitchhike? Yeah, hitchhiking could be worked into a lesson on transportation, couldn’t it???
Sigh…. I know he’s right.
A quick call to the kindergarten teacher and she agrees. Not to worry, she assures me. We’ll just reschedule. Turns out making the calls was the easy part. Shifting the day into Plan B was killer, ‘cause NOW WHAT?? I didn’t plan anything for that day. We were going to be gone for all of it. Plus I was pretty sure the kids would be disappointed, hyper, and NOT in the mood for a regular school day.
I just didn’t have the heart to make them go through a regular day. This day was supposed to be a fun break from the usual grind of our normal schedule. I had plenty for them to do, but how much could I expect from them given our disappointing turn of events? These are the questions I asked my freshman self as seven first graders showed up for the day. Oh my, they were fairly vibrating with excitement. “Mrs. Dahl, we get to go on our field trip today!” I felt like the parent who has to break the news to their child that they ran over the family pet (which I have in fact done). Not fun.
“Children, I have some bad news.” Seven heads swivel my way at the ominous tone in my voice. “I don’t think we’re going to get to go on our field trip today.” Silence. Then chaos. “Why?” “Awwwwwww.” “When do we get to go?” Questions, questions, questions. After the initial shock, they adjusted quite well, I felt. There was no talk of mutiny or bodily harm concerning Mrs. Evil-Party-Pooper-Teacher, so I was relieved.
And then I learned something the hard way. An unstructured day is way harder than a structured day. Waaaaay harder. Its not that we didn’t have enough to do. We did. I had plenty of activities and things to keep them busy and occupied. But it was out their usual routine, and kids need routine. They just do. We got some schoolwork in, but we also watched a movie, spent a goodly amount of free center time (they always choose Legos. They LOVE Legos), and we planted flowers for Easter (no, not a Spring Celebration----EASTER, thank you very much).
I’m pretty sure the kids enjoyed themselves, but by the time the Go Home bell rang at 3:15, I was EXHAUSTED. And truthfully, the time seemed to drag just a little. It was the first day since I started teaching that I had experienced that. Usually the days FLY by and when the last bell rings I think, “Already?? No, I’m not ready. There’s so much more I wanted to do today!” Not yesterday. It was more like, “Time to go, kids. Bye. Get going. Hurry. Put your coat on while you walk out the door. I’ll mail your backpack to you, just GO!” Not really, of course, but I WAS bone-weary.
We are planning to reschedule our big day, but we only have a month of school left, and those days are already consumed with end-of-year activities. We’ll try to make it happen.
I think my big lesson here is, never assume anything. Always think about a school day from every angle, and don’t view routine as an enemy that the kids need a break from. I think in a real way, it’s comforting for them, no matter how much they complain about it.
So next time, I WILL have a back-up plan, AND a full bottle of antacid.
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