Today, I served as a chaperone on Julia’s second-grade field trip, an outing to River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. She went there during both years of preschool, so it’s a familiar place to go with classmates. This field trip was notable in that Julia was joined by two of her best friends, A & S, in our little group.
All three girls were great the whole time: curious, energetic, polite, et cetera. The best thing about the trip for me was listening to their discussions, which centered on questions like these:
Is that poison ivy? What’s the science teacher’s name? Where is Mrs. Seeberg? Which direction is north? Is it lunch time? Are ferns sharp? Why did we only see one frog? Where are all the turtles? Why do those trees have tags on them? How deep is this pond? Is that a poison dart frog? What does Julia’s dad have in his ears? How many surgeries have you had in your life? When do we have to get back on the bus? How can he hear better, if the hearing aids fill up his ears? How long have we been here? Do you know what our initials spell? How do you know that your last name is pronounced that way? Why isn’t Northfield on the map of the nature center?
I’m looking forward to hearing the questions during the second field trip, to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.