Oddities and Skiing

I've achieved a new level with these 5th graders. Today, two of them came up to me separately to tell me a random fact about them. One girl lost a tooth and now her mouth feels weird. One boy showed me how double jointed he is, particularly with his thumb. No context for either. Just volunteered facts. 😆

A third student shares his food with me. Yesterday he gave me a Cheez-It, today he gave me a cucumber followed by a french fry followed by a Rolo. He didn't want to ski at all, so he hung out with me most of the day. He also spent a big chunk of time telling me all the countries of Europe (because he has them memorized), Asia (mostly memorized), and South America (also mostly memorized). 

The ski field trip was chaotic at the beginning and at the end, but in the middle- the part that matters- it went very well. The bus was crammed with students on the way to Mt Kato. Some had to sit three in a seat! 

Once we got there all the students stayed on the bus while the 6th grade teacher went inside to purchase tickets. Then we had to fill out paperwork for ski rental, get helmets, boots, and skis, and then be instructed on how to ski. Some students already knew how to ski and a few even had a ski pass, so those students got to go to the slopes after passing a quick test. 

The beginners spent most of the morning doing lessons, but they were able to get a few runs down the hill before lunch time. They spent the rest of the afternoon skiing the slopes with their friends and having a great time. The workers told us they love when our school comes because the children are so polite and nice.

There was only one injury today; a boy had a bad fall and bruised his hands. He said he felt fine, but they put him in a splint/arm wrap anyway. His mom is a nurse so I'm sure she will check it out when he gets home.

Collecting everyone at the end of the field trip was another huge ordeal. Some students went home with their parents, some stayed to ski longer with their parents, and the rest of us packed onto the bus again. I was in charge of getting both 5th grade classes back to school... made more difficult when they kept wandering as I counted them! One of the chaperones helping me kept messing up the pronunciation of my last name. I ignored the mispronunciation since my name is a tough one and I had more important things to worry about, but the kids seemed annoyed and kept correcting her. Ha!

We made it back to school just barely in time to send everyone home. It was a great day that went much better than I expected it to. I'm proud of all the kids who tried skiing for the first time and rocked it! 27 of them!