Yesterday (Wednesday) I was a chaperone on a field trip with Alex's kindergarten class (the morning K class) and also the afternoon K class. Teachers and chaperones and kids combined, there were 63 of us on the bus that went to and from Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.
The..........kiddies on the bus make
Lots of noise, lots of noise, lots of noise
The kiddies on the bus make
Lots of noise
All 45 minutes each way.
Actually, mostly on the ride TO.
By the time we rode back, all the kids were worn out by sun and aquatic creature overload and lunch, so the ride was quieter.
I had two kids to keep an eye on. My own, and one of his friends. We all squished together on the bus seat and the two kids kept each other entertained for the ride there. On the ride back, Alex dozed against my shoulder, and his buddy fell asleep leaning his head against the back of the seat in front of us.
The kids had fun. We saw the 3 beluga whales - two females and a male on loan from another zoo. And the kids got to pet small rays (not the stinging variety) in a shallow pool. Alex loved that - he got to pet 4 of them. We also saw the sea lion show - 3 sea lions: two adult males, one was 21 and near a thousand pounds, and a "teenager" male - 16 years old. The third was a rescued baby from California. They'd tried to rehabilitate him after they'd found him malnourished and on a beach, but he showed up again, in worse shape, so they decided he belonged in an aquarium. And that, in a little tiny nutshell, is how he ended up at Mystic. He was adorable - about a year and a half old.
And we saw all sorts of fish and other sea creatures, including sharks, and the tentacles of an extremely shy octopus.
All in all it was a fun trip for the kids. We ate lunch in the blazing 85 degree sun (isn't it April?) and then rode the bus home.
Alex had a blast.
Then last night, I took him to his T-ball practice. Bill's taken him in the past, so this was my first foray into the world of organized athletics for young 'uns. And it was fun. All those little kids. They practiced running the bases as fast as their assorted-lengthed little legs could carry them...they broke into two teams and played a practice game, so they all had opportunities to hit and run and field and throw to first. They're still learning that it's not so important WHO gets the ball as long as SOMEONE throws it to the first baseman.
Alex did well - and by that I mean he did just as well as the other kids. He's average, but that's fine.
At the end of practice, they took turns throwing balls at an overturned bucket on top of the T stand. It represented the first baseman, and the idea was to hit the bucket, which represented his glove. So they all had turns at that and then their coach's wife (our friends across the street) gave out little baseball magnets to all the kids. She has also instituted four weekly awards - given to players who demonstrate various examples of good sportsmanship in the previous week's game. She'd told me about the idea a while ago - I think it was based on some team she'd been on and the coach had done that...I don't remember exactly, but it was a way to reward and motivate the kids. And at this age, it's a really nice bonus.
Alex was the 4th kid to get a ribbon (it says "Super Star") - his was for "Super Running" - because he ran the bases so hard in their first game.
His face was priceless. His eyes widened and his mouth mad an "O" of complete surprise. He hadn't expected it at all, and was so very thrilled about it that I wanted to cry. A bit.
On the ride home he told me "I'm starting to like T-ball a little bit more now."
Excellent.
And that, for the most part, was my wonderful Wednesday with Alex.
