Each May, it’s common for those school field trips to come. I recently helped explore the watersheds near our local mountain stream with my daughter’s third-grade class. The teacher, her aide, four other parent volunteers and I split up the class of 26 to drive them up the canyon. Upon arriving in the forest stream area each small group was given things to explore and find out about the environment. Highlights were usually things the third graders found themselves like a dead, half-rotten vole (mouse) on the side of the trail, a garter snake, and deer scat (poop).
Crimson Trail Slope (Utah)
All was going well as we climbed up along a rocky slope trail to sit and look for fossils. Not too long passed and a student cried out. The boy had lost his footing and slid down the rocky slope stopping only when he got tangled up with a juniper tree branch. He called out and a nearby classmate screamed, “He’s bleeding!” The teacher and one of the parent chaperones (who also happened to be a nurse) made their way to the boy while the rest of us calmed the class and kept them from gathering around the injured boy. We could see that he had a scrape on his nose, a cut on his head and was protecting the wrist he fell on. The adults doctored him up then began walking him out to the car where the chaperone would take him back to school to meet the boy’s mother for a doctor’s clinic visit.
The class did fine remaining on their fossil hunt, finishing up only when the chaperones said it was time to go. The class enjoyed their adventures and several students drew get well cards for their classmate as soon as they returned to the classroom. The student did return to school the next day with sparkling eyes and a grin, but he was also sporting four stitches on his head and a cast on his wrist! The teacher of 30 years was commenting it was her first serious student injury on a field trip.
You just never know what will happen next!
Le Top blog 