Jillian's 1st Field Trip

The Friday after Halloween, Jillian and I went on her first school field trip together to Sharp's Farm!

Jillian, Sophia, and I sat on the third row.  It was a great ride ( I was super nervous I would get bus-sick, but I didn't!). I especially enjoyed getting to talk Jillian's teacher during the bus-ride!

(This photo was taken from the kids classroom book about their field-trip!  Mrs. C. had several books sitting out for parents to read while we waited for our conference time the following week.)

We made it to Sharp's Farm!

The first thing on our agenda was the corn maze.  Here Noah, Sophia, Jillian, Daniel, Mrs. C., and John leading the way on our corn maze adventure.

We were given trivia questions about bats and bugs.  And depending on our answer, we were told to go left or right on the trail.  Did you know that bats are really NOT blind?  

We completed the corn maze successfully! Hooray!

The kiddos I was assigned to watch over for the field trip!  All four of them were great kids and the boys especially had me laughing!

It's a really blurry picture, but I love this photo of all the kids and me huddling together to try to stay warm! It was much colder day than we had anticipated!

I love being with my Jillian! It was a really special experience for me to get to go with Jillian on her 1st field trip.

Then it was time for us to get on the hay-ride. The kids sat in the middle of the wagon while the adults sat on the edge. I was so thankful that the teachers had that idea, because it was a crazy, bumpy ride! 

It was a scenic ride...

with some unexpected adventures awaiting us.  By far, of the MANY hay rides I have taken in my life-time this one was the most exciting!  

Then the kids and I enjoyed a picnic on the blanket I brought along! I wish I had taken a photo of my pink lunch bag, because Jillian wrote "Mommy" on it for me.  :-) We had identical lunches!

Then we went to go learn about the Pilgrims in the barn. First, we learned about "the three sisters" that the Pilgrims were taught to plant and grow from Squanto, the Native American. The three sisters are: 1) corn; 2) beans; 3) squash.  We also learned that the Pilgrims drank only fermented drinks (wine and beer) on the Mayflower because water wasn't considered safe for them to drink.

Then we went outside to learn about the games that Pilgrim kids played! 

Jett's mom took this photo of Jillian and Jett. Jett and Jillian ride the bus together and they are good friends. Jett LOVES Jillian and has told her several times now that he wants to marry her. Jillian good humoredly says, "NO!!! We're too little!"  (P.S. If you look right behind Jillian's head, I am there smiling!!)

Then we learned about the Native Americans and some of their customs. Sophia was chosen to beat the drums for the presentation and did a great job. (She is wearing Jillian's hat because as I mentioned before, it was a C-O-L-D day and Jillian didn't want to wear it!)

Jillian really enjoyed her field-trip and learned a lot of things too! 

Then we went to the final presentation of learning of what a woman Pilgrim would do in her home.  We learned that she stuffed grass into duvet sheets every night to make "mattresses".

At one point, she asked the kids if they knew the one book the Pilgrims took with them on the Mayflower.  I tapped Jillian because I thought she knew the answer (but didn't give her the answer!) and she raised her hand and said "Little House on the Prairie"!  (We have been reading that together at night, but clearly that wasn't the answer the Pilgrim lady was looking for!) After a few more children raised their hands and got it wrong too, a little girl named Alexandra answered it right with the Bible!   When we got home, it sparked a great conversations between Jillian and me.  We talked about the Pilgrims seeking religious freedom in coming to the New World!