Topsfield Fair

Talk about stressful!!!

I have chaperoned field trips in the past, but they were all short ones. I have led trips for my after school program, but those all stayed on campus. I have taken kids multiple places, but never in such a large group, to such a large PUBLIC venue.

I started my day with one of my parents not showing up, so I scurried around to change all of my plans. All of the things I packed for each of my children had to be changed so that another parent could step in at the last minute.

Somehow, we made it on the bus and were on our way. I brought extra crackers, and bottles of water for each child, and boy did they come in handy!!!

We started off our morning by looking at giant pumpkins, and lots and lots of vegetables. We even answered a list of questions, earning all of the children lollipops. Needless to say, that was a highlight for the children. :) While we were eating the lollipops we saw an elephant walking into an arena. The children screamed with joy and begged to go see. We watched the "Beulah's Birthday Bash" in the arena, and all of the students wanted a chance to play with Beulah. It was so cute. Rather than playing with the elephant we went and fed all of the animals at the petting zoo.

If anyone needs to know how to make a quarter worth of the animal feed last between 15 and 20 students....just ask. (It's about 3 or 4 pellets per child.)  Considering most of the feed fell to the floor because the students screamed any time an animal came toward them to eat, it was good they weren't wasting it all. We headed back towards lunch and checked out a few more buildings like the "poultry" building.

I said to my children "We are going to go look at some chickens!" Super enthusiastically of course to keep them entertained, I might have included a little jig to jump start them along. One of my girls looks to me and starts whining "But I don't want to see these chickens, I want to see real chicken, like the kind you eat." I didn't want to completely ruin her day by telling her that live chickens and chicken nuggets are the same thing, only one is dead. She will find out eventually.....ruining her morning didn't seem like that time. :)

We headed over for lunch and enjoyed some time of just relaxing. Well, I might have enjoyed more of that time than the children, but it was definitely needed. After lunch it was only 45 minutes until we needed to be back on the bus, lunch was definitely a good point of the day! :)

With more walking around, looking at sheep, and cows, and pigs, and bunny rabbits, and horses and more sheep, the children were happy!

We headed over to the bathrooms for one last stop before the bus, and that's when the terrible hit. You never know how far your stomach can drop through you and the ground, then the moment you realize that you have truly lost a child. Your thoughts become all jumbled trying to remember the last time you saw the child. I retraced my steps. I remembered what she was wearing. I called her name in the bathroom. I talked to all of my parents who saw nothing as they had been attending to the children in the bathroom while I waited outside.

10 excruciating minutes passed between the time most of my students exited the bathroom, and the time that I called my principal to see if he knew anything. It was at that moment that I found out she had been turned in to "lost children" and another teacher had her going back to the bus. Little did I know a comment made my a random person mere moments before I knew my student was lost, about a girl in a "blue jumper", was actually a comment referring to my child, who had taken off her purple jacket, the only piece of closing I had seen her in all day. Knowing my child was finally safe, although not with me, was still terrifying. No one ever wants to think that they have lost a child.

When she was finally returned to me the only feelings I could have were that I was hurt and I missed her. I wasn't angry that she had wandered off as she explained. I was just scared, and that was a feeling we could both share.

We all crawled onto the bus and headed home. I had 21 students to take to the fair, and I, by the grace of God, had 21 to take home.

That was my field trip. I can say "1 and done" now right??? I lost a kid one time, and now I'm done forever right??? Let's hope!

M