Ritter Springs

Ritter Springs

I thought I loved going on field trips when I was a kid but I love them ten times more now as an adult. I love learning along with the kids. The most recent field I chaperoned was to Ritter Springs Park. This was so much fun. The kids were doing a lesson called Nature Unleashed. This field trip was with my youngest class. He is in fourth grade. I love seeing them all so excited and ready to go in the morning. They almost can’t contain their excitement. The chaperones and teachers get the lunches and coolers all loaded up on the busses. I remember as a kid loving the bus rides. You got to sit by your best friend and I always got to sit next to the window. That was my favorite spot where I could look out at the scenes going by as we passed them. We arrive at the park and the kids all pile off of the bus in a line ready to explore everything. This particular field trip the students had booklets to fill out about their observations. I begin with having them identify manmade objects and non-manmade objects. After we identified what they were and the differences we talked about how they complement each other and how they are not good for each other. The kids were so attentive and had great ideas, questions and answers. It was noon and they were all starving. We all sat in a circle eating our lunches talking about what we had seen so far. After going throughout the entire park they were worn out and hot. After bathroom trips and drinks they were ready to load up to head back to school. They got back on the bus and the ride home was very quiet. I think some even fell asleep on the ride back to school. The Ritter Springs field trip was a success.