Field Trip Week

This past week I went on two different school field trips with my boys. With my 2^nd grader, Luke, we went with his class to a camp where they learned all about habitats and the ecosystem do doing “hands on” research in the pond and wildlife studies in the forest. As one of the adult chaperones I helped the kids fill out their nature worksheets and also taught them a few other things that weren’t a part of the curriculum like: “How to burn stuff with a magnifying glass” (who knew ants popped like popcorn?). One of the highlights: playing “spider web tag” with the entire 2^nd grade class during our picnic lunch (man, those kids are fast!).

The day after Luke’s trip I went with Caleb and his 4^th grade class to Camp Pendalouan (a YMCA camp here in Western, MI). We learned about the first settlers to Michigan, the fur trade, and played another tag-like game to illustrate the workings of the food chain (elementary kids sure love their tag games!). My highlight of this day: watching my son interact with his class…he’s sweet, kind, and funny.

I have to admit that when the week 1^st began and I saw that I had two full days of school field trips in which I would not be getting any work done (yes, pastors do work during the week J I was a bit overwhelmed. Yet as I thought of the +’s and –‘s of going on the trips I was easily swayed in going when I reminded myself of one simple fact: Each one of my boys had invited me.

As my kids get older I will be invited less and less into the events of their life and so I want them to know that Mom and Dad love their invitations. Accepting their invitations communicates to them that what they do and think about matters…it shows them that their world is beautiful, interesting, and something I want to participate in.

Sure, not all of us have the flexibility of being self-employed, but going on every field trip isn’t the point (there will be plenty of field trips that even this pastor won’t be able to attend). The point is that as parents we regularly accept the invitations into our kid’s lives; doing what they would like to do, seeing what they would like us to see, and laughing at what they find funny.

Of all the things that were taught this past week what I learned most from my elementary school field trip experience was: Being invited by a child is enough of a reason to go along.