Second Grade Silliness: F is for FINAL Field Trip

Well, final field trip of this school year that is. If there was an award for "Best Field Trip Location Ever", it would be Crystal Springs Preserve. There are many reasons why. Here are some:

1. It is cheap. (free!)
2. It is very close. (5 minutes away!)
3. It is always run by very nice, knowledgeable, great-with-kids people.
4. The kids LOVE it.
5. It is BEEE-YOOO-TIFUL. (More on this coming.)
6. It goes right along with what we are learning in class. (Animals)
7. It is cheap. (did I already mention that?)

What more can a teacher ask for? Not much as far as field trips go.

The very nice, knowledgeable, great-with-kids ladies split us into three groups. My class went inside first.

We learned about reptiles and even got to see some up close.

I took picture of live snakes too, but I prefer my snakes pickled and in jars. The live ones give me the heebie-jeebies. I blame it on my brother.

Copyright Mr. TV Photography

My favorite was Tebow the Gator. Only because he was being securely held. He splashed us when he was taken out of his tank and got my camera wet. I'll let him get away with it because of his name...

After he was put away, Tebow kept his eye on us. We were informed that when he is too big for the tank, he will be taken to the alligator farm and replaced with a newer, younger, version. I wonder what the next one will be named. (I wonder if there was ever a Wuerffel...)

We were very interested in Slim.

This is a summary of Slim's life: Slim was hungry. Crazy people fed him. He ate a family dog. He was punished and now hangs on a wall.

We had lots of questions for one of the nice, knowledgeable, great-with-kids ladies. She was very patient and answered the questions quite well. Ms. Giggles wanted to know the fate of all the animals that lined the walls..."Did all the animals get runned over by a car or something? Cause they're all flat." I don't recall the answer because I was too busy laughing.

So the second adventure was going on a hike around the springs. Mr. T.V. loved this part. He said it was BEEE-YOOOOO-TIFUL. And it was. We were asked what kind of "domestic" animals we might see. Mr. TV's answer was...TIGERS! I'm sure his first grade teacher taught him that...

Mr. TV got to use my new ladybug magnifying glass. It was renamed "magniflier" because of it being a ladybug and all. He held it up to me and said, "MS. BUCKLER! YOU HAVE A HUGE...A HUGE...PONYTAIL." Yes, I thought it would be much worse than that. The best part was that he had to stop and INVESTIGATE! everything. And I mean stop. A dead stop. As I was walking. My shoulder hurts from all the times he stopped. Did I mention he held my hand for almost the ENTIRE time?

Notice the tight hand grasp. That was him. Not me.

Here is a random Preggo Lady picture:

Here is a random fellow Longoria Lovers picture:

Here is a random Leopard Toad picture. He is sitting close to one of the spring vents. (I think that's what it was called, I was busy getting my arm ripped off...):

My fellow team mate (and one of my "goodest friends") did not have a fudge pop, but seemed to be enjoying herself.

We learned about cypress trees and how tall they can grow. We also learned about cypress knees. Mr. TV carefully guided me around these so I would not fall and be unable to complete the hike.

We saw some wild animals on the hike, too:

This snail was happily attached to the rail. Before we got to him that is. We left him on top of the rail.

At least he didn't fall in the water. Mr. TV named him "Brownie".

Cute Sandhill Crane family. We were so very quiet so that they could pass by.

Scariest wild animal of all. Oh wait. That's just my sister. Nevermind.

The last rotation was learning about watersheds. It was really fun.

Braids was stressed that we had to answer a "TEN POINT QUESTION"..."But we haven't even learned about them yet!" She's concerned like that. I love her.

We got to make our own watersheds (according to directions) and name our town. It was an....interesting creation.

It had the "World's Largest Animals". Please notice the combination of animals. Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

It ended up with a crazy amount of bridges so we named it Bridgington (aka Bridge Town).

If I had a choice, I would go on this field trip every single time. No wonder they fill up a year in advance! Guess what Labs. I'm going to find a day to sign up for next year. I don't care if it conflicts with the Master Schedule. (Just kidding, I do care. Joanie scares me.)

When we returned to school we got to use my brand new, given to me by one of my "goodest friends" ladybug kite. It took a few times, but we got it.