17 Hour Field Trip

**Sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas**

On the Ocean Institute Field Trip

the 4th grade class gave to me

a big shiny bus

I drove my own car :)

bags and bags of luggage

classy trash bags

two hours of waiting

yep, still waiting

one tall ship

finally, let's get started

a multi talented cook

He is playing the recorder with his nose

8 children cooking

dinner preparation

a Captain giving orders

heave, ho - heave, ho

panning for gold

pytrite or leaverite?

climbing on the rigging

Son holding on for dear life

beef stew for dinner

this tasted better than it looked

deluxe accommodations

bunks and bags

 two nasty toilets

too bad you can't smell the stench

letters from home

my historically accurate letter was a waste of time

a view of the harbor at midnight

fresh air and a view

And a dead cell phone battery.

Update to the Mission Report and Excursion to the LA Zoo

It's official - our - Son 1's grade is in and *drum roll please* he got a perfect score!  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Son 1's teacher is a very hard grader and is one of those teachers who gives everyone a 'C'.

Here it is, the perfect score.

 Back to our regular programing...

Excursion to the LA Zoo.  I don't think I've ever been to the LA Zoo, but it is possible that my Mom will comment on here and correct me :)  Anyway, we decided to take a quick road trip on Sunday before the Super Bowl.

We had a quick drive out and found the Zoo.

Front Gate

 In all honesty the Zoo was a bit depressing.  Most enclosures were small, the layout was haphazard and the map/signage was horrible.  The kids enjoyed seeing the animals though, here are some highlights:

Black necked swans are back there somewhere.

Flamingos were stinky

Indian Rhino was cool

Giraffes were tall

Elephant!

Heading home

I don't think we will be back anytime soon.  It's pretty tough to compete with the Safari Park and San Diego Zoo.  Although our favorite is still the Living Desert our in Palm Desert.

Happy Monday and have a great week!

More school assigned family fun

This post continues the saga of the "fun family" assignments that we have been receiving.  With the 1st grade blend extravaganza done, it was time to move onto my 4th grader's Mission Report.  Yes, it is time to learn some California history, people.

4th graders no longer do Mission dioramas because the parents ended up doing all the work - hmm, sounds familiar - so instead Son 1 gets to write a 5 paragraph report on the mission of his choice.

Assorted parts of the Mission report

Luckily, Son 1 picked Mission San Gabriel Archangel, close enough to visit.  We headed up to the mission, took lots of pictures and did a whole enrichment thing, which honestly was pretty fun.  This is the kind of "fun family project" I like.  We also had lunch at a great local deli, but I digress...

More papers

After we visited the mission, Son 1 started writing.  It was pretty painful, trying to manage a 10 year old into producing work that will earn a grade higher than a D.  But the worst part was waiting for the cover page and bibliography to come home from school.  Those two elements along with a information sheet were the only things completed at school.  The information sheet came home in a timely manner, but the cover page and bibliography were MIA.  I started sending the teacher emails and asking for updates on when these two papers might actually make it home.  Really, I'm just trying to be helpful (hear the sarcasm in my voice).  Finally we had the report all done, except for the two MIA pages so I sent off another email.

The MIA cover sheet

The cover page was finally sent home along with a handwritten bibliography just a day or two before the report was due.  I should point out that the picture my son selected is blurry, not sure if it is a resolution problem, printer problem or what.  But at least the report is done.

I know I can be a thorn in the side of my kids classroom teachers, but I'm only saying what everyone else is afraid too.   Besides, I balance out my high maintenance side with volunteer time.  That counts for something right?