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Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,748,461 times
Reputation: 41381
Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Lover 21
So our 12 yr old came bounding in like a hyper little puppy yesterday. He was all excited about next year's DC trip.
I guess this is a really typical thing? Can anyone share their stories?
Besides the school-sponsored fundraisers, I really want him to feel like he earned the money. Any suggestions on that front?
Has anybody done the chaperone thing? I'm 60% sure I don't want to do it. But I'd be open to hearing about your experiences.
I'm actually living right outside Washington DC right now. But in 9th and 10th grade I was living in Southern VA and my class took day trips to DC. One time we went inside the White House and the Smithsonian Musems, the other time the US Capitol and the Supreme Court. It was a great learning experience for kids from very limited culturally Southern VA.
So our 12 yr old came bounding in like a hyper little puppy yesterday. He was all excited about next year's DC trip.
I guess this is a really typical thing? Can anyone share their stories?
Typical? No one in my area goes to DC for an 8th grade field trip; so no, not typical.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Lover 21
Besides the school-sponsored fundraisers, I really want him to feel like he earned the money. Any suggestions on that front?
Extra chores will help. I was never big on fundraisers for things like this. I see no reason why others have to fund my kid's trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Lover 21
Has anybody done the chaperone thing? I'm 60% sure I don't want to do it. But I'd be open to hearing about your experiences.
I always volunteered to chaperone, and I was chosen to do many over the years.
It was great to see (and get to know better) who my child spent all his/her time with! Plus the kids got to know me.
And the trips are usually well thought out and planned... a great experience for me as well as the kids.
One of my biggest regrets is that we never took our boys to DC when we still lived in the Northeast. I went twice as a child, and loved it. Our school took the kids north to Boston, and then when we lived in FL, the class trip was to Disney. It's wonderful opportunity for your child.
I would follow your son's lead on the chaperoning part. Some kids really want their parents along, and others relish the first taste of freedom. If you want to go, be aware you will likely be expected to share a hotel room with another parent, and will have to be vigilant when you might prefer to immerse yourself in the sights, or a good night's sleep.
Our trips were reasonably priced, but since you have an entire year to prepare, which we didn't, I think the idea to have your son partner in raising the funds is commendable. I guess anything within driving distance of DC has the possibility of snow, so shoveling, or even leaf raking, can be used to supplement his expenses.
So our 12 yr old came bounding in like a hyper little puppy yesterday. He was all excited about next year's DC trip.
I guess this is a really typical thing? Can anyone share their stories?
Besides the school-sponsored fundraisers, I really want him to feel like he earned the money. Any suggestions on that front?
Has anybody done the chaperone thing? I'm 60% sure I don't want to do it. But I'd be open to hearing about your experiences.
The 8th graders in my old school district in Kentucky always have a DC trip. The kids love it and it's a great opportunity, especially for kids whose family's are not likely to be able to take them. I was a teacher chaperone 4 times and while we had a few parent chaperones, we didn't have many. The ones that went seem to really enjoy it. You just need to be flexible and willing to go-go-go until you drop. When we take kids on this type of trip we try to keep them busy practically every minute from the time they wake up until they plop in their beds exhausted.
Yep I let my two sons go and I also went on one and believe me when I say once was enough for me . We lost one kid because he would not listen and we had to deal with the dc police and they are rude to the max . One kid had a food allergy that his parents forgot to tell us about and we ended up in the emergency room at an inner city hospital , not an expierience I would like to have again thus I said once was enough . I felt that some of the parents were negligent in filling out the permission forms and the info on their kid . Then one kid kept touching everything and I mean everything in the white house and I had to keep telling him not to touch and I and the teacher were about to hemorage with some of these kids . Would I do the same thing these days Hell no .Yes these are all things that can happen . But i was so worn out when I got home I slept hard for three days . But all in all I would let my kid go they seem to enjoy it .
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