Well, today marks one memorable day....MY FIRST FIELD TRIP AS A TEACHER!!! How exciting, but nerve wrecking at the same time!!! As most of you know, today was our field trip to the National Cattle Congress Fair in Waterloo, Iowa...which is about 35-40 minutes away from Clarksville. Yep, that means we got to ride on a schoolbus! What 2nd grader isn't excited about that?! Well let me tell you, they were ALL excited...being very chatty on the way there...asking, "Are we there yet Miss Nederhoff?" or "Miss Nederhoff, how much longer?" I soaked it all in today, and I can tell you that my day was absolutely fabulous.
Our day started off with a 35-40 minute bus ride to Waterloo, leaving school at about 8:25 AM and arriving to the fair at 9:05 AM. From there, we were partnered up with a tour guide who took us around the fair to show us different areas of the fair. We started at the petting zoo, where students had a chance to go in the goat pens and pet them and see what habitat they lived in. At the petting zoo, we also had the chance to see peacocks (student favorite), pigs, ponies, chickens, a deer, llamas, horses, and much much more!
After visiting the petting zoo, we arrived to watch a dog show that started at 10:00 AM. The dog show was AMAZING...seeing a dog skate on a skateboard, walk on a tight rope, and much much more! Who knew dogs were so talented? ;) After seeing the dog show, we then headed over to the dairy and beef cattle barns, as well as the horse barn and a few more animal barns. The favorites of this time were definitely the baby calves (brings back memories) and the horses!
At 11:00 AM, a tiger show was going to be showing, so we hurried over to the arena where the tiger show was taking place at...as many of our students asked us to do this right when they saw the sign when we pulled up! Yes, they can read and tell time and they knew exactly when the tiger show was! :) A few highlights from the tiger show was first off, just seeing that many tigers in one cage together (craziness!), seeing them stand on their hind legs, and even an elderly tiger walk on a tight rope! It is so amazing to see how these animals are so smart and can be trained so well.
After the tiger show, it was FINALLY time for lunch time. Thank goodness! Normally we eat lunch at 10:45 AM and today, we weren't able to eat until 11:45 AM. Needless to say, the students were starving as were the teachers ;)! We ate lunch at the Electric Park Ballroom, where we had brought sack lunches from the school to enjoy.
Take a quick break from reading...and...
- Enjoy this collage of pictures from our day at the National Cattle Congress Fair -
Once lunch was over, our learning time began :)! Yes, every field trip has to have a learning time at some point!!! We began our series of four different workshops. We rotated four different times to four different workshops. The first workshop we began at was the sheep workshop. At this sheep workshop, we learned that from sheep fat...they make shampoo, make-up, and much more? Yep, you can tell me you learned something new today! I'll take credit for it ;) The students also then had a chance to make their own sheep out of a sheer of wool and a felt sheep cutout. They really enjoyed this activity!
After the sheep workshop, we traveled to the poultry workshop. This workshop was the best, because one of my students dressed up as an egg (voluntarily) and totally loved it! I was so proud of him for stepping up and being a leader, and didn't care if he was embarrassed! That is my kind of student right there! At the poultry workshop, we learned about the different parts of a chicken, how long it takes for a chick to hatch (21 days) and how often chickens lay eggs. Anyone know the answer to this question?!?! No? Alright, let me teach you again... (after all, that is my profession!) Every 26 hours, a chicken lays eggs! Fun fact :)! Once the informing time was over, the students got a chance to begin to make their own chicken cutout. We didn't get a chance to finish them, so we are planning on finishing them tomorrow! :)
Once finished with the poultry workshop, our next stop was the swine workshop aka. PIGS! The students didn't get as much into this rotation because we didn't have a great teacher and they struggled hearing him, not to mention...they were getting VERY tired! However, Miss Nederhoff did listen, being the good student she is ;). A few things I learned was that pigs are born with 8 teeth, a "litter" of pigs is usually 10-12 piglets, and they have to weigh around 250-300 pounds to go to market! Few fun facts to remember! :)
Our last and final workshop before heading home was the dairy workshop! At this rotation, our leader was dressed up like a cow, so the kids really loved that! Who doesn't love a costume?! :) We learned about how milk from a cow on a farm goes ALLLLL the way to milk on our table. It was a cool process with a very engaging poster. They also got the chance to shake whipping cream in order to make homemade butter, and then had a chance to try it with a cracker! They enjoyed this..partly because it was food and they were hungry again :)
Finally, we got to get back on the bus. Now, I say finally not because I didn't enjoy my day, but because it was a very busy day, packed to the minute with activities. However, I was very impressed with how smoothly run this field trip was, especially with how many students were there from all over Iowa. I was very impressed with the Cattle Congress staff and would recommend this field trip to anyone!!!
Overall, we had a wonderful day enjoying the National Cattle Congress Fair and could not have asked for better weather! :)
I want to close by saying...
Teaching can be a very stressful career, but that's life right? No matter what mood I go into school with (good, bad, sad, excited, worried, nervous), whether it be related to school, family, friends, boys...my mood truly goes straight out the window when my students walk in my classroom. My mood goes straight to ecstatic, smiling, and feeling blessed. I could not have asked for a more rewarding profession to fall into, and even though people down talk my career...(saying it doesn't take work, "we get our summers off" (not true), or how can you even say that was a day of work..you got out early), I truly know that my career is one of the most important careers in this world. I am not saying this to be conceited and I am not saying this to say I am better than anyone...I am saying this because I truly believe it and my coworkers and I are dedicated to bettering the lives of our students, no matter what it takes. I couldn't have asked for a better staff to walk into. They have opened their arms to me, being supportive but yet being able to relate to me even though I am young. I love my career, I love my small town, but most of all, I love the school family I am now a part of. <3
Thank you all for listening. Until next time, stay safe <3.
