This is "Farmer Nick".
Farmer Nick was our tour guide. Farmer Nick
Farmer Nick: What do you think this is?
Kids: A TREE!!!!
Farmer Nick: Yeah... but here in the tree? See these things hanging? What are they?
Kids: LEAVES!!! BRANCHES!!! DIRT!! BIRDS NESTS!!!
Farmer Nick: Yeah, but I'm talking about the apples. Do you see the apples?
Kids: CAN WE EAT THEM NOW??!!! OOOOH THEY LOOK GROSS! I HATE APPLES. NOT ME I LOVE THEM. CAN I PICK ONE?! ME TOO!!! I WANT AN APPLE! THAT ONE'S ROTTEN!!
Farmer Nick: Whooaa, wait, no picking yet. Let's move on. Do you see this Bee Hive? What do you think we keep in there?
KIDS: BEEESSSS!!!! AAAAAKKKK! EEEEEKKK! CAN I TOUCH ONE??!!
Farmer Nick: Do you know how many are in one Bee Hive?
KIDS: FIVE... NO! TEN THOUSAND BILLION INFINITY!!
Farmer Nick: Well...actually more like sixty thousand. Isn't that a lot?
KIDS: MY SISTER WAS STUNG BY A BEE! HER FINGER GAINED WEIGHT.
Farmer Nick: Ok, let's move on. Do you know what this is? It's a ladder. What do you think we use it for?
KIDS: CAN I CLIMB IT! NO WAIT MY TURN...FARMER NICK, FARMER NICK - I KNOW!!
Farmer Nick: Yes, you there - thank you for raising your hand. What do we use the ladder for?
KID: MY SISTER WAS STUNG BY A BEE TOO BECAUSE SHE WAS RUNNING FROM IT!!
Farmer Nick: Ok, well, now we're talking about the ladder. What do we use it for? No... wait... no one can climb the ladder. I'm just showing you... ooh, get down, no, we can't climb it. Ok, Let's move on.
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And so it went. There were many laughs from the parents who, probably like me, wondered who Farmer Nick's usual audience was - because it would seem he wasn't used to kindergartners. He also wasn't used to a teacher speaking to her students in Spanish and at one pointed commented on how she was "speakin' Mexican". Good times, good times.
Here's Brother eyeing me thinking, "Really? Do these kids not know what this ladder is for?It's an apple orchard for G*d's sake!"
Here's Brother smiling when I think Farmer Nick told them we that they would now get to pick an apple. What he didn't tell them was that they would each spend about 2o minutes picking out the perfect apple that didn't have any rotten spots or holes in it and was just high enough that they could barely reach it and they would be so proud and sure theirs was the best... and then they would be instructed to drop it in a bucket on the way into the barn, never to see it again. Ah well. They each got a sip of apple cider and an apple slice in the barn. And all was good.
I realized on this field trip that the point of field trips is to get the kids out and about and perhaps expose them to something new. It doesn't have to be extremely interesting or entertaining. Riding the bus is enough fun to make it worth it to them. Also - I should say that this opinion on field trips is specific to me... so you have to take it with a grain of salt. I also get bored at museums and my legs start falling asleep upon entrance be it the Nature Center at Edwin Warner Park or The Louvre in Paris. I know some people love this stuff. ;) But I DO love my little dude and I hope I get to go on ten thousand billion infinity more of these field trips with him.
2 comments:
As a former kindergarten teacher- let me say, your post made me bust out laughing. I wish those places would hire people that could actually work with children. And they had to drop their apple in a bucket?? How frustrating! Love your take on it though. -And he actually said "mexican" instead of spanish? Yikes!
What a perfect opportunity to teach our children appreciation and tolerance for others.
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