Cave Joy!

All of the pictures from our field trip today have pictures of minors in them, hence, no pics for this post.

It was a beautiful day at Timpanogos Cave! The students were great on their 3.5 mile hike! The parent chaperones were amazing!!! The weather was nice, the rangers were the best, and that cave...I just love that cave. I also loved being able to give the tour to MY students. I hope they'll remember on the standardized test at the end of the year what a FAULT is, because we walked through two of them today and I was sure to stop my group and say, "THIS! This is a fault! You are standing inside a crack in the earth. Remember that!" :)

The bus driver was delighted when I explained that one of my boys didn't show and that we had an extra ticket for the tour. I invited him to hike up if he wanted to and see that old cave. He lit up like Las Vegas! On the way down, he thanked me three or four times for the opportunity. He went out of his way to explain that he thought I gave "a very nice presentation." That just made me so happy because I truly am an interpreter and sometimes (only sometimes) it's hard to sit around and watch my husband do all the interpretation at NPS sites and keep my mouth shut. An employee made mention to me that I did a great job and he felt like my group was really into it.

The parents. I swear, the dearest, neatest parents from each class came to chaperone. They kept the children safe and weren't afraid to discipline when necessary. My heart was just so full when I saw them doing such a great job helping the students, and me, and the rangers. My hat is OFF to all of the parents of all of the children I teach! I enjoy watching other folks parent and I know it is the hardest thing ever. One of the moms hugged me when we got off the bus back at the school. All of the parents were sharing such positive comments about this field trip and how great it is. I'm so glad everyone had a good time.

The kids. At the end of the school day, I usually stand by my classroom door for dismissal. I hold my hand up so that I can high-five each student as they head out the door. Today, I had my hand up just like usual and the first kid out the door, a boy, spontaneously gave me a hug. Then, every single kid in the class proceeded to hug me saying things like, "Thanks for a great day!"

I'm so thankful I got to share such a special place with my students. I hope I can share many more extraordinary things with them whether it's within the walls of our little classroom or elsewhere. Thank you, Cave!