The Field Trip

My boy got his first taste of a field trip last month. We was 3 years and 4 months, in senior nursery and barely out of toddler-hood.

I knew it will be an exciting day full of photo ops, but I had reservations about joining. Plenty of them.

My reservations:
1. I think the itinerary was not wel thought out. They were to go to 5 places in various parts of the metro. Probably a bit tiring for kids. The school must have wated to maximize the rental on the buses as I understand they can be quite steep.
2. At 3 years old, we could have shown these places to our son at a more leisurely pace.
3. I think it's not very age appropriate. Take for example the Rizal lights and sound show at the Intramuros. It was a wee bit interesting... for me. My son could not care less, no matter how I explain who Rizal was. =) he even got scared it a few areas since since it was dark.
4. I hate crowds and having to line up, squeeze our way in and hustle for space in front of the exhibits is not my idea of a good time.
5. It will be just Jared abd me. Confession: i have never been out alone wth my son. I feel I'm not ready yet. He runs fast, I can barely catch up. I lug around too much stuff for him

But we still joined, for the experience. So here's my account of that day.

We were to meet at the parking lot of SM Southmall at 5.30 am.

But before that we made sure to fill up tummies first. Daddy joined us for this early morning breakfast.

Excited and wide awake at the bus. This is one of the few pics we have together. I was too busy running after him that pictures together were the farthest thing from my mind.

First stop: Luneta Children's Playground

He climed up the steep slides, was sweating too much I had to change his school uniform (the top) twenty minutes into playing.

It was good to see my old favorites such as the giant shoe and the slides again. While I cannot say the 'spruced up' park looked great, it was at least clean, or maybe because we were there just as the park opened. If you're going here, put lots of mosquito repellant lotion on you and your kid. There were swamps in some of the attractions and I was paranoid about dengue.

2nd stop: Museo Pambata
At another time, this would have been a great spot. Plenty of areas for your kids to explore, great interactive displays, they even have a cute library all housed in one comfortable place. But, there were lots of kids and each wanted wanted to try out the cool stuff. They all keep climbing the fire struck I was afraid somebody might get hurt. I swear we'll be back here and will explore and learn at a leaisurely pace.


3rd stop: Intramuros, Rizal's Light and Sound Show
Did not take pictures, it was too dark inside. There was nothing to show at the lobby.

4th stop: MOA, Nido Science Discover Center
By the time we arrived at MOA, the kids were a bit tired (it was so hot) and all of us were hungry. We were given an hour to eat before we headed inside the Discovery Center.

It was so nice inside this giant domed theatre. Jared was excited when I told him we're going to watch in a big, big TV.

Once it started, he got scared, and no amount of cajoling will make him stay. We left the theatre and just ate popcorn outside.

Aside from the theatre, there were other sections inside. We enjoyed the robot exhibit and the area with moving plates designed to let the kids experince an earthquake.

5th and lst stop: Ark of Avilon Zoo in Ortigas
Was excited since Jared love animals. Unexpectedly, when we arrived, he was more scared than excited. Maybe being too close to the animals is different that seeing them from books? I'm not sure but he did not really look at the animals on the first floor, not even the birds.

It got better when we climbed up the 2nd floor. Kids were feeding carrots to guinea pigs. He wanted to try but I didn't think it was safe (they ight accidentally bite even if the kids' feet were enclosed in a wooden fence. Still, there were too many kids for all the caretakers to keep an eye on each one and I figured better safe than sorry. And truth is, they're still mice to me.

The birds

Jared and the rest of the kids spent more time at the play area on the 2nd floor. Again, re-apply mosquito repellant and if possible, bring your own food. The snackk bar is selling just hotdogs and a few other snacks. It was a bit dark, too but there are plenty of seats for the tired parents to rest their weary feet.

At this point, I just wanted to go home and take a shower. It was humid! And somebody up there heard my little wish. We breezed through the normally busy c5 road and SLEX. encountered some traffic here in our hometown Las Pinas, but back at Southmall all in less than 40 minutes! It was a little miracle for me already.

So, all is well that ends well.

If we did not join, I'm sure Jared will not mind, or won't even remember. But then again, I won't have this particular blog entry.

If you will let your kid join their field trip, bring loads of patience and remember, this is for your kid.