3rd Grade Field Trip

I had the opportunity to go with Maisie's 3rd grade class on a field trip last week, to the Living Traditions Fair at the City and County building. It's a large exhibit of cultures from around the world, with dancing, crafts, displays, and interactive opportunities. I've actually been volunteering in Maisie's class all year, so I know the kids fairly well, but it was fun to see them outside of their typical school environment.

First up they learned about Navajo pottery.

Then they watched Greek dancing, which I think all of them thought would be cooler than it ended up being. It didn't hold their attention long.

They were much more interested in playing Bocce Ball.

We watched some Mexican and Polynesian dancing as well, and both times, Maisie went up with a few of her classmates on stage to participate.

I was pretty shocked that she decided to go up, with absolutely no urging from me. Way to try new things, Mais! In the picture above you can see her dancing with a boy named Dominic from her class. I was impressed at how nonchalant they were about holding hands at this age. The best part though was how embarrassed all the boys in my group were when the scantily clad Polynesian dancers came out and started shaking their hips. More than one boy watched them dance while peeking through their fingers :).

We saw tons of other amazing displays of weaving, woodcarving, metalwork, and paper. It was a fascinating glimpse into many different cultures, and the kids seemed wholeheartedly interested in a lot of the displays.

After several hours, we headed back to the bus and went up to the Capitol lawns to eat lunch. The temperature was much colder than anyone anticipated, so we weren't exactly lounging around. More like a dine and dash. Before we left though, we got a picture of all the Newman 3rd grade, including teachers, with my handy iPhone panorama feature.

It was a fun day, and I'll actually be going on another field trip with them next week!