During the past month, I've also chaperoned each of the kid's field trips. First was Brynlie's trip to Earnest Shepherd, where the Beyond Basics kids had to work together to solve problems at several different outdoor stations. I loved the course and kept thinking, "this place would make a great LDS Girls Camp." The director (pictured in the bright blue shirt) noticed my BYU shirt and said, "Oh, you must be a member of the church!" before proceeding to tell me which ward she belongs to, and that she has served as the Camp Director for many years. Haha, I nailed it!
The next field trip was with Brevan, when we drove up to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. I chose to drive Brevan separately from the bus because he had to return a little early for a debate tournament. The almost-two-hour ride was a perfect opportunity to talk and laugh with my awesome teenager. And to lose track of my driving speed so I got pulled over. It's been many years since I got a ticket, so I was sure the policeman would let me off with a warning. Instead, I got the cop who must have argued with his wife that morning. He was very rude, and when I mentioned, "I'm sorry I was speeding. I was just following traffic and didn't notice my speed," he yelled, "Really?! You want to get technical with me?! You were in the LEFT lane, and you PASSED a semi-truck!" I kept my mouth shut at that point, but was thinking, "Ya, exactly. The only car I passed was a semi-truck that was going slowly." He then continued with a lecture about how the LEFT lane is only for passing, and NEVER for driving. Uh . . . . when there are only two lanes on the Missouri freeway and the right lane is full of semi-trucks, it's not exactly uncommon for someone to drive in the left lane. But whatever. When Mr. Grumpypants went back to his car, he looked up my clean record and noticed that my husband recently got a ticket. When he returned, he said, "It looks like you AND your husband need to slow down!" I've been blaming Ryan for my ticket ever since.
Anyway, back to Brevan's field trip. We were both excited to check out the Missouri Academy, which is the early-entrance college program for kids gifted in Science, Math and Technology. Brevan has his heart set on attending the program, but I've had a very hard time wrapping my brain around the idea of sending my firstborn to college TWO YEARS earlier than my heart had planned. We went on a tour of the entire campus, led by students in the Missouri Academy this year, and then I spent a couple hours talking to the director of the program. I also quizzed some of the current students with total Mom questions, such as: "How do the counselors keep the boys and girls separated so you aren't sneaking into each other's rooms doing unmentionable things? Have you ever drank alcohol with other students? What activities happen on the weekends?" I think I shocked them a little with my bluntness, but I was determined to know the ins-and-outs of the program before considering sending my child into the environment. What I found was a very clean, safe, education-driven program. If a student in the Academy (who are Juniors and Seniors in High School) is found with alcohol, they are immediately kicked out of the program. The girls only have access to the girl dorms and the boys only have access to the boy dorms. The counselors are strategically placed to catch anyone cheating the system. The most comforting answer I got from numerous students was, "We aren't here for THAT kind of college. If I knew someone was drinking or having sex, I would tell on them!" The director told me the same thing when he answered my questions with, "These kids just wouldn't do that. They are brilliant students who are very academically advanced. They aren't students looking for acceptance by breaking rules; they are the rule-followers who didn't fit in at the regular High School and wanted to be challenged." The program encourages a lot of social interaction, so the kids aren't allowed to have TVs in their rooms or even to own cars (the counselors take students to Walmart almost daily, and everything else is within walking distance). They want the students to bond with each other through wholesome activities and to encourage each other as they progress through the program.
Enough said. I was pretty much sold. The students I met were exactly the type of kids Brevan could really bond with. It's still scary to think of Brevan heading to college so soon, but the program fits him completely.
The next field trip was with Lindsey's Beyond Basics group to a cemetery in Kansas City where the namesake of our town, Charles E. Kearney, is buried. He was the president of a railroad company. I'm pictured next to a small grave site where the adopted black girl of Charles Kearney is buried. The records show that Charles went to a slave auction where a black 11-year-old girl could tell he was a kind man. She begged him to buy her, promising to be his hardest worker. He told her he would buy her, but would immediately make her a free woman. She was still young, so she worked for him for several years (with pay) and later was officially adopted by Charles.
After the cemetery, we went to Kaleidoscope, a favorite activity for the kids. Then we ate lunch at McDonald's and rode the bus back to the elementary school.
The last field trip I've chaperoned lately was to Red Barn Farm with Logan's class. These pictures were taken by another mom, which was great because I could just enjoy the day without worrying about taking pictures. Logan loved snuggling with me while we rode the bus an hour each way.
This is TJ, Logan's best little buddy. They are inseparable in school. The weather was so beautiful this day - a perfect 65 degree fall day.
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