Field Trip

One of the great benefits of working pretty flexible hours from home is being able to take some time and be a silly mom with a camera recording her daughter's first real live field trip... to Les Schwab, great northwest tire purveyor, free beef distributor and running tire-guy employer.

This particular Les Schwab is well-within shouting distance of our KinderCare, so at 10:30 this morning, clad in matching green t-shirts, Ms Cheryl's class (accompanied by a few moms/hand holders) trekked "across the wood chips" in between the parking lots for a lesson on the tools needed to change a tire. In return for their exemplary behavior, the class was rewarded with popcorn from the waiting area.

What on earth does Ms Cheryl to do elicit such charming behavior in our children - kindness, excitement, wonder, hand-holding, willingness to wait in line for popcorn? I am convinced that some sort of group mentality must take hold - at home, Mags realizes that to get all of our attention, all she would need to do is bump off one pesky little sister. Here, she'd have to take on nine other kids, which, being a smart girl, she realizes is a losing proposition, so she just kicks back and blends in... Is that what it is?