Let’s be honest, the best part of school is going on field trips. Hands down, nothing can compare. There’s nothing more exciting than that rush of energy you get when you are set free from the confines of the classroom and released into the great outdoors.
When I think of elementary school, all I can seem to remember is how fun our field trips were. We had a day free of class, we got to sing songs on the bus ride, and we spent class time exploring a new place!
In elementary school, I always led the singing of the crowd favorite, “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.”
The usual field trip would involve us raising our hands on the bus when our teachers called out the attendance, as well as that rush to find a partner to be your field trip buddy, just in case you got lost.
We would all hold hands and follow each other in a line as we filed in and out of different museums and historical sites.
As it turns out, you really are never too old to go on a field trip. Recently, as a junior in college, I got to go on a “field trip” for one of my classes. However, college field trips are much different than any of the field trips that I went on in elementary school.
For one thing, attendance was never taken. So there was no chance of continuing my perfect attendance streak, one that I have tried to continue since elementary school.
When we all got on the bus, I sat with all of my friends and we talked about how excited we were to go on the field trip—even though the majority of us are twenty years of age and over. But that didn’t stop us from singing together (subtly, of course) to various Drake songs from his new album.
When we arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, we were set free to roam around the center of town, doing whatever our hearts pleased. We had a list of “suggested” monuments to see and a map of the town, leaving us the complete freedom to wander around where we chose.
So, of course, we did what any group of college kids would do… we found a place to get food for lunch.
After completely stuffing ourselves, we were then ready to take on Salem. We roamed around the town and saw a few of the famous landmarks, such as the statue from the Bewitched movie.
We also saw the House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
And then of course, to top off the self-designed field trip, we spent the rest of the day at the beach until the bus came to take us back to BC.
Even as a college student, the fun of a field trip never really wears off. For those of you who have yet to go on a field trip or retreat at BC, get ready to return to your roots and pile onto the big yellow school bus for some old-fashioned fun.
Photo Sources:
http://life.familyeducation.com/parenting-preteens-children/elementary-school/42867.html
http://www.musicmotion.com/Stickers-Charts/perfect-attendance-gold-seals.asp
http://singersroom.com/artist/Drake
http://aliceqfoodie.blogspot.com/2007/09/pizzas-people-and-places-to-see-san_06.html
https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/grants/field-trip-grants
http://royalrosarianfoundation.org/children-at-risk-program/