Field Trip!

Back in April (April 29th, to be exact) I was asked to be a parent helper during Dashiell's field trip to Drumlin Farm.  Asked, because when your kid has food allergies the school really really really  wants you to be the one responsible for shooting your kid with an epipen if he ventures somewhere outside of the realm of the school nurse and happens to have an allergy attack.  And while I was pretty sure that wouldn't happen, I was happy to oblige them anyway!

Selfie on the bus! Still smiling!

Selfie on the farm, crazy-mom style

So the weather for that day called for a high of about 57 degrees, and while I getting ready that morning I checked the temp, and it was already about 56 degrees.  "Great!"  I thought, "Maybe it will warm up a little more than expected and hit 60!".  So I told Dashiell to wear a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, and zip up hoodie sweatshirt.  Layer, so if he gets too warm he can always remove a layer.  I wore a long sleeve shirt and a light spring jacket.  Such optimism!  Turns out the temp I saw in the morning was the highest it would get all day, and it would only get COLDER as the day wore on. By mid-day it was 42 degrees, windy, with off-and-on sprinkles, and we were whoafully underdressed. Huge mom fail!  Dashiell was miserable, poor kid.

But despite the cold, it was a nice field trip.  Drumlin Farm has a lot to see, and our guide was very knowledgeable and informative.  The farmers were planting things, we got to go into the (warm!) greenhouse, the kids pet a chicken and some sheep, a goat escaped from its pen, and the pigs were pretty darned cute.

Goats, prior to escaping

"Let sleeping pigs lie"

Warming up with the chickens (chickens not pictured, obviously)

The kids also got to search for worms and bugs underneath rocks and logs.  Dashiell said that was his favorite part.  The guide was teaching the kids the difference between wild and domesticated creatures.  Drumlin Farm actually "keeps" some wild animals, but only those who have been injured and are being rehabilitated, or those who someone tried to make into a pet but couldn't (because wild animals aren't supposed to be pets!), and now the animal doesn't know how to survive in the wild.

 

Not a pet!

Dashiell claims that he had a great time, despite the miserable weather.  I did too - it was really fun to hang out with Dashiell and all his school friends!  I haven't had a lot of time to volunteer at the school this year (so tough to find time when I also have to take care of Aurelia!), so it was nice to get to know a couple of the kids Dashiell is friends with. I look forward to going on many more field trips in the future!