My Birthday/Field Trip!!

Today was very special for the 5th and 6th graders because they got to go on a field trip. The 7th and 8th graders get to go tomorrow. Each grade goes on a quarterly field trip and the end of the year trip is a couple of days long. The 8th graders always go to Washington, DC and the other grades go to either Houston, Austin, or Dallas. On each field trip the students get to do a fun activity and visit a college or university. Today the 5th graders went to the Alamo, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and Texas Christian University. I met the 5th graders during advisory where lifework was being checked and the final list of students who earned the right to go on the trip was being created. Unfortunately only about half of the 5th grade had earned the privilege, while the other half was either a part of the issues I discussed yesterday or had too many marks on their mark card. I was responsible for a group of 12 students and had the help of a parent. The students loaded the buses and I followed them downtown because my brother was flying in and I could only stay until lunch. After searching for a parking place, I found one at a meter about four blocks away. I put as much change as I had in the meter and reminded myself to come back in 2 hours no later than 11:00. After I caught back up with my group we toured the rest of the Alamo, looking at all the informational plaques and artifacts. We then walked across the street to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. We began by touring the basement full of fun and gross facts. It was a little challenging taking 12 eleven year olds through a museum eventhough it was interesting information. If it would have been up to them, they would have gotten through the whole museum in 10 minutes. Just because they know how to read doesn't mean they enjoy standing at every window to read the significance of the object inside. Some of us would just rather be explained the significance by someone who took the time to read it. I must admit I am one of these people. Needless to say, I had to work hard to stay in front of the group so I didn't lose any students. I did manage to remember some of the interesting sites we saw. We watched a video half way through the tour that showcased a man who could smoke a cigarette through his eyes, yes you read it right, he seemed to 'breath' in through his eyes and exhale through his mouth. This same man could blow up a balloon with his eyes as well. Amazing! For the second half of the tour we walked through the wax museum. Here is where I got to sit next to Oprah! I am an Oprah fanatic and I think she is above daytime television and should not be compared to Maurey, Dr. Phil, or Tyra. Anyways, the kids had fun taking pictures in front of the their favorite stars. Its so incredible how real they look! Throughout the tour, the kids could make wax hands and go through a miny haunted house. At 12:00, we met outside the museum and the students preformed a couple of KIPP chants. I recorded them on my camera and if I figure out how to put them on my blog you will get to see them. After standing there for 10 minutes, I realized that it was 12:10 and my meter ran out an hour ago. I immediately left the group and sprinted the four blocks, worrying the whole time that my car had gotten towed. I was relieved to find a $20 ticket instead of a $200 fee. Happy Birthday to me from the city of San Antonio!! Next time I will pay a $5 flat rate to avoid this problem.