End-of-Year Field Trips

I really wanted to go on field trips with all my boys this year, but it ended up not working out that way. I was so sad when I discovered that Jonah & Micah's field trip to Challis was the exact same day as my 5th grade Shrek Show performances on Thursday May 9, and I knew that I would be unable to attend like I had hoped. I've never gone on the 3rd grade field trip to the Land of the Yankee Fork station, and I thought it would've been so interesting & informative. Jonah and Micah were so excited to go; they'd never had a school field trip out of town before that lasted the entire school day. They made their own cold lunches and packed their own bags the night before the highly anticipated trip.  As they were making preparations, Micah said "this is the first time we've ever had cold lunch at school". I couldn't even believe that! No wonder they were so excited to make their own! They were even allowed to bring things to do on the bus, because it's an hour-long bus ride south to get to Challis, so they took their Nintendo DS's. When the field trip was over and they returned at the end of the school day, they told me about the Buffalo Run and how they got to try Buffalo Jerky. They had different stations they went to, and were taught about the Indians who used to live in the area and some of their traditions. They showed me bags they created and colored like the Indians used to do--they would wear large belt/bag type devices to hold things (kind of sounds like an ancient fanny pack). They displayed their bags on their heads for me! They said the worst part was that a boy puked on the windy road on the way home and it really stank up the bus, but other than that, they were happy to have a day off of school with their friends learning and making things!

Ammon's field trip was the last week of school, which is really a hard time to find a substitute, so I didn't join the 7th grade class, either. Their field trip was to Lost Trail Hot Springs at the top of Lost Trail pass. It's about an hour's drive north, just over the border into Montana. We've gone swimming & camping there before, so Ammon knew what to expect. His class spent the day swimming in the pools and soaking in the hot springs. It was a very lazy field trip compared to the one they went on this past winter, when the 7th graders went cross country skiing and snow-shoeing in the mountains. That was a very adventurous trip and a lot of work, so in comparison, this was an easy day off from school! Except Ammon said he'd rather have the kind of field trip like he's had in previous years that offer more educational opportunities and going to new places. I snapped this photo with my {crappy} cell phone camera of the 7th graders climbing aboard the field trip bus that morning as they were leaving.

Kanyon's field trip was the very last day of school, and I went to it for about an hour and a half, until I needed to return to the school to teach some classes. The Kindergarteners went to the Sacajawea Center in a bus, which is about a mile from the school. There they were split into the 3 classes to attend 3 different stations. One group was shown a movie about Sacajawea leading the Lewis & Clark expedition (Sacajawea was born in Salmon). One group was taught how to make a tepee by an Indian. One group learned about Mountain Men games, tools, and beading. Most of the information was intended for older children, but the kids enjoyed getting out and running around and being outside with their friends. Kanyon was so happy to go on his first field trip ever! At the end of the 3 group rotations, the kids were given little brown bags with snacks & water bottles, and they ate in a picnic area. It was a fun last day of school for the little ones!