![]() She suggested that our groups stick together, which I happily agreed to. Once we dispersed from the bus (and my group scurried off in different directions), my friend who also was volunteering, but happens to be a teacher, took pity on my over-matched butt. The stupid, confused expression on my face was pretty much how I looked the whole day. Multiply that by a busload, and that pretty much describes how the ride went. I went to the Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys) a few years ago, and these girls near me kept losing their minds whenever Shawn Mendes appeared. My group sat in my general vicinity, including J, who plopped down beside me. The zoo was an hour away, which meant that we had to take a school bus there. This would be the first of about 1250 times that day, where I would wonder this about him. One little boy immediately wandered off, leaving me wondering where he went. This would be the first of about 1250 times that day, where I would do this. I took a head count, and rattled off their names. ![]() J’s teacher (who did a great job communicating and keeping things organized) split the class up into groups, so each volunteer had six kids that they were in charge of. Unrelated, but his classic moment was immortalized in pin form! Click the pic, to check it out. I’ll give her credit for coming creative with it, despite me feeling like Darryl Strawberry on The Simpsons, when Bart and Lisa heckled him. She proceeded to spend the rest of the day calling me by everything but my name, and laughing about it. When I told her, she immediately called me something else. ![]() One little girl came up to me, and asked what my name is. A few seemed excited, but it was more like how a pack of lions gets excited when some fat, tasty prey shows up at their den. When I entered J’s class, J was really pumped to see me, but the other children? Yeah, not so much. ![]() Where were the dads at, all this time? Did they know something that I didn’t? While initially flattered, panic then set in. While there, one of the teachers came up to me and said that he never saw many dads volunteering, so it was nice to see me there. On the day of the trip, the first thing that I had to do was sign in at the office. Kids would be so excited to see a new face, and I’d be treated like a rock star? Sweet! I pictured them looking up to me in awe at the zoo, and following me around like the Pied Piper, as I regaled them with my knowledge about the various creatures. I quickly Googled tips for chaperoning, and it seemed like an easy enough gig. One mandatory police check, and one random drawing of names later (three volunteers were needed, but eight parents wanted to go), and I was in. ![]() I of course, said no, but J was persistent and insistent, so I finally relented. However, when a notice came home requesting chaperones for the zoo trip, J wanted me to go. As such, I tend to avoid putting myself in those situations. See, when it comes to being in charge of a group of children, I tend to suck. That’s how I found myself as a volunteer field trip chaperone for my daughter’s kindergarten class trip to the zoo recently. One thing I’ve learned about being a parent is that sometimes, you have to put yourself out there, and do stuff way outside your comfort zone. ![]()
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