your permission slip

Hey grown-ups out there, can you remember the joy of a field trip? Some or all classes were canceled that day, and you had to pack a special lunch and ride on the bus with everyone in your class. Even the teachers were on the bus! And you got to go to a museum or a play or the zoo or the courthouse instead of sitting through the ordinary school day. I, for one, thought field trips were fantastic.

I took this picture a few years ago as I walked past the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. I found myself to be truly jealous of those kids who were piling out of the bus and into that enormously wonderful place. Silly to be jealous of them, right? I mean, I’m a grown-up! I can go to that museum any ol’ time I want to! So why don’t I? Because I don’t make the time for it, that’s why.

I’ve decided to add a few field trips to my calendar and I invite you to do the same. This blog post will suffice for a permission slip. Go alone or bring a friend. (Only a kindred spirit will do.) My suggestion is to do it during a weekday for a true field trip feeling. And a brown bag lunch is always a nice touch.

What is your favorite field trip memory? Where will you take a field trip now?

museum