Friday, June 1, 2007

Chaperone 8th Grade Field Trip

My daughter's 8th grade field trip to Cedar Point (Sandusky Ohio) was today. 2 hours each way with a bus load of teenagers trying desperately to spread their wings. I had ten in my group - mixed boys and girls. We didn't have to hold onto them -- just make sure they got there, check them in at 2:30 and gather them again to head home at 7:30.

I wasn't too worried. I'm an ER nurse. I handle confusion second nature. I have a VERY strong personality (read _itch here). I set rules and expect them to be followed. So.. I told the kids I expected them to be on time and to me 5 minutes early was on time, Have Fun see you at 2:30 / 7:30.

These kids were so AWESOME!! They (all of them, especially the boys) were a minimum of 15 minutes early, they checked in, waited patiently, followed rules. No problems, no complaints, no raised voice or threatening looks on my part.

I had such a good time with these kids. I thanked them all and needed to sing their praises.



Have a great weekend.

3 comments:

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

I have to say that I admire your courage for taking this on in the first place! And you brought ALL of them back alive amd in one peice and are still sane enough to sing their praises! That's amazing! I'm glad you and the kids had fun.

Leah said...

You are brave! Sounds great. My daughter, going into first grade, has just begun to go on field trips, and I admit, I'm always a little nervous to send her on her way. But she loves taking these little leaps out of her comfort zone!

Too Little Time said...

Thanks for the comment - You are a good mom to let her take those "controlled" steps outside her comfort zone it gives them courage and confidence to take the bigger steps later in life. When Lis was 5 I dropped her off at a local VBS where she was the only one in a classroom at a totally unknown church. I asked her if she wanted me to stay and she said no, she'd be ok (she looked scared to death). She stayed and I believe grew in strength and confidence because of it. Thanks for the comment, Karrie