Last school year was so hectic on many levels, and the result was a significant decline in our usual number of field trips.  I don’t think it’s a necessity for all families, but it’s important to us.  It’s our way.  We learn by doing.

This year, I’m trying to arrange Friday as field trip day.  It might be a nature walk, a trip to a museum, or a play/concert.  Some weeks, it might just be to the library!  It’s a weekly goal, though, and we’re sticking to it as much as possible.

This Friday, we went to our art museum to see the Ancient Egypt collection, since that’s the time period we’re in right now.  Jared is learning so much!  He commented that he was surprised how much he’s remembering from what he’s read, as he recognized and explained the objects on display.  Always nice when the kids actually remember something!

Across the street from the art museum, we stopped in at the botanical gardens.  I’m trying to visit there weekly right now, so we can document the change of season.  As Jared explored, I sat on a bench and prayed, taking as many deep breaths of green, fragrant air as possible.  It won’t be here much longer!  We have a large, indoor area with desert and rainforest habitats, which is a real treat in January.  I go in there all year, though,…just for the butterflies.

The rainforest room is filled with moths and butterflies of all sorts.  They were extra lively yesterday, since we happened to visit while the mist machines were watering.  It really made it feel like a jungle with the mist filling the room and playing with the light.

I definitely didn’t feel like going anywhere yesterday, but I’ve decided that I can’t let that be much of an excuse.  With chronic illness, it’s always a high wire balancing act.  Since there is no day when I feel “good”, I have to decide just how bad the bad is.

Thursday night, we went to open house at the high school.  We were given a copy of Lonna’s schedule, and we traveled through her day.  That sounded like a fun time.  I didn’t think, though, about what it would mean to actually walk around to all her classes, trying to beat the clock.  We spent five minutes in each classroom, and then the bell rang, giving us four minutes to get to the next class.  How on earth do these kids get through their day!  Start at one end of the building…run to the other end of the building…go outside to a trailer classroom…go all the back to where you were at the beginning.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Exhausting!  It was nice to imagine her day, though, and to meet the men and women who get the privilege of teaching her.

Lonna always hated field trips.  She complained before, during, and after every outing.  Even though I think about the hole left by her absence, it’s for the best.  She’s extremely happy running around that school.  Besides, the mist machine would mess up her hair.  🙂