Ballpark Field Trip

I'm well aware that some of the best memories that people have of their school days are field trips. I also know that these same days are frequently the least favorite days for teachers. Don't get me wrong, field trips are great. It's wonderful to get out of the classroom and it's even better to interact with the kids in a different setting. However, keeping track of super squirrelly kids just isn't fun.

This being said, we had a fantastic field trip at school this past week. My friend and coworker, Stacy, is completely awesome. She planned and organized the entire field trip. Her husband, Scott, works at our local spring training baseball ballpark. So, we got to go to learn how to grow grass, take care of the fields, and tour the batting cages and locker rooms. (The grass part ties to our science standards, so we are able to justify this).

So, here we are, 100 third graders at the ballpark.
Here's Scott showing the kids how grass grows.
I should mention that our school is within a short walk of the ballpark. To keep the kids safe we asked for our school resource officer to help us cross the major street. Instead, to the total delight of 100 third graders, we had a complete police escort including a couple of motorcycles and some cars as well. I think the walk alone was the highlight for many of the kids.
All in all it was a great day, and I'm glad we were able to get out of the classroom for a little bit.