Lessons From a Pre-K Field Trip

Do you ever wonder what your child is like at school?  You drop your kid off every day and you hope everything is okay during those 6-7 hours they are in the care of someone else.  I always wonder what’s going on?  Is my child behaving?  Is he happy there?  Is he listening?  Well the only way to answer these questions are to investigate and go see for yourself.

Most teachers will tell you your kids act differently at school than at home.  Yes, it is true.  I had this picture in my head of my four-and-a-half year son being quiet and shy in school.  Recently, I went on a field trip with part of my son’s pre-K class and found out he’s quite the opposite.  We went to the botanical gardens and the bus ride with nine 4-and-5 year-olds was an adventure in itself.  All I heard was… I see McDonald’s, I see a bus, I see a gas station and on and on and on like these kids had never ridden in a car before.  It’s amazing how riding on a bus makes things you’ve seen a thousand times seem new through a child’s eyes.

Anyway, what was so awesome for me during those four hours was I got see another side of my son’s personality.  He’s more outgoing than I thought.  It was so cute to see him making his field trip partner laugh. I saw him being a good listener in and out of the classroom.  I saw him excited to learn.  I saw him leading the group in a song while the bus was being parked.  I heard him and his friends singing all sorts of fun songs including Justin Beiber on the bus ride back. I didn’t even know my son knew who Justin Beiber was!!  I was like is this my child?  I sat and watched in amazement.  It was so refreshing to get a chance to see him in a different light.  And the icing on the cake…there were no meltdowns, no one fell in the fountain or killed any flowers.  All the kids behaved really well at the gardens and had a great time!

So, if you have a day off or just a little time during your day… spend some of it in your child’s classroom or on a field trip.  You might be pretty amazed and proud of what you see.  I know I definitely was.