Friday, May 15, 2009

A Fieldtrip to the Zoo

Last Friday I had the privilege of going with my daughter's class on a field trip to the Reid Park Zoo here in Tucson. Along with another parent, I had the responsibility to keep track of three kids, including my daughter, while we were at the zoo. Each of the kids had to carry their own water bottle throughout the day, while we tried to remind them to take frequent drinks in weather that climbed to 102° Fahrenheit. Yes, this is Tucson, but no, it isn't supposed to be that hot yet.
From about 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. we were outside in the heat. After we finished looking at the animals at the zoo, we went to a nearby park, ate lunch, and then played an array of games. The kids did gunnysack races (in pillowcases), three-legged races, freeze tag, etc. They also tossed water balloons back and forth to see how far they could toss them without them falling to the ground and bursting.
The teacher planned several activities throughout the day that would get the kids wet and help them to cool down. As they were finishing up with the balloon toss, the parents got to chase the kids and pour water on them or get them with the remaining water balloons.
I don't know how the kids did it, but they never seemed to slow down, despite the heat. They just kept running. I was tired and hot, and I even got to sit in the shade during several of the activities.

1 comment:

rantipoler said...

Wow, that's quite the adventure. Sorry it's so hot there already! I must say I'm a little disappointed you didn't participate in the gunny sack race. That would have been awesome. :P