field trippin'

This past week was a bit manic because we went on a last minute field trip on Tuesday. Seriously, the expat teachers did not know until the Thursday before...awkward! And guess what? It wasn't just first grade. Every grade in primary and middle school went on a field trip on Tuesday, so you can just imagine the logistics of getting hundreds of kids, their teachers, and extra Chinese chaperones onto buses and to the correct destination.

First and second grade went to a place called Baby Boss, an indoor children's theme park. There are two floors. The first floor is things like a firehouse, courtroom, dance studio, and the like where the kids can get "paid to work" for 10-15 minutes. Upstairs had other "jobs', but then a ton of activities you had to actually pay extra for, which I didn't get.

The idea of the field trip was good, but the execution was weak. There were several other schools there, even though SSBS was assured (supposedly) that there wasn't. What could have been a great day was rather pedestrian. We spent a lot of the time waiting in lines, trying to keep the kids from running off, and remembering that the day was almost over. I know, sound pessimistic. I guess what I am trying to say is that is really could have been a fantastic day, but the kids were bored when we had to wait in lines, it was far too crowded, and it just wasn't as fun as it could have been. Oh well, learning for the future.

But here are some pictures from our field trip:

I asked Ben to smile, but I think that he just doesn't do smiles in pictures. All of the kids were given this hat to wear to show they were from SSBS. I couldn't decide if it was a shrimp or a fish. 

The school provided snacks for the kids to take. In those plastic bags on the desk are two packs of oreos, two snickers, and two oreo cookie bars.

This was my field trip group. They were pretty good all day, with the exception of some pushing, fighting, and running off, but it is first grade...so to be expected. Good kids, though. They tried to get into it, even when we were waiting in lines.

This is Terry and he is adorable. He held my hand when we were waiting for the bus because he didn't want to be alone. 

There wasn't enough room on the bus for some of the kids and teachers, so a few of us went on an extra bus. From the left, that is Ms. Carli, Owen, me (obviously), and Ms. Gioia. 

My group did "archaeology" first. It wasn't that legit, but they got to play in the sand.

They also did the coloring room.

We met up with some other students and they played in the magic sand. 

They were able to be lawyers, judges, and witnesses. 

We waited in line for the fire station, but it was too long. This is another group of SSBS kids as firefighters.

By far the funniest thing all day. I really needed the loo, but when I opened the door to the stall, I was a bit shocked. The toilet was miniature. To give you perspective, I wear US women's size 10W. Even the two girls in my group thought that the toilets were too small! 

So, it ended up being the first of two field trips in the whole school year. It was somewhat a success, though I seriously need to talk to someone about the planning and logistics of these things. First graders aren't meant to wait in lines, trust me.