Bottom on the Bale

Twactah Twain

Ready!

That's the last line in the little rhyme the good folk of The Farm at Swan's Trail teach small children on field trips to keep them in their seats on the Wagon (pulled by the Tractor) on the way to the Pumpkin Patch. This is where Lizzy's preschool had their field trip today. Doesn't she look like an intrepid explorer of pumpkin patches? She objected at one point because the whole place isn't "weally a field". Much like Bob the Tomato being a fruit, so what the heck is he doing in VeggieTales? She's picky - in a semantic sort of way - like that.

Totally Pumped

When we got there she was fine. When we saw a friend ("the shy girl", Lizzy calls her) bundled up, she suddenly became chilly. We found a jacket in the car, and also the teachers brought each child an oversized tee shirt emblazoned with the school's name, so she was just fine. They pumped water, played on the playground, pet baby animals (four-day-old rabbits are tiny), rode in the tractor-pulled wagon to the pumpkin patch, and had Creamsicles. Aside from a bee sting, the kids did great, although I have to say this was a lot easier with first-graders when Abby's class went two years ago! Whichever parent it was who said to her own child loudly enough so the whole wagon-load could hear, "no pumpkins too big to carry yourself!" - that parent I nominate for sainthood.

"The Shy Girl", Lizzy,
and "Bwicey"

It was a good time, if rather tiring. And I have renewed respect for the teachers who do these things - not to mention the employees of The Farm - there are reasons I never completed my degree in early childhood education and field trips are pretty much the top of the list. A special shout out to Farmer Tim, who taught the kids the rhyme:

This is the hammer,
This is the nail,
Keep your bottom,
On the bale.