He's Back!

The 5th graders at Nathan's school got to go to Edinburgh for a week! I know, you are thinking, 'brave teachers' especially if you could see all of the health and safety forms they have to fill out over here to do this sort of thing. They had a packed schedule in order to keep the kids constructively engaged so as not to get into mischief.

Day 1 travel to Edinburgh, have bus tour and then

do team building activities at the Scout camp type place they were staying outside of the city. They even got to go grass sledging or sledding which Nathan said was a blast. He was pretty pumped to be in a room with his friend Oliver and 4 other guys but after a loud night he opted to switch to a room with only two other guys so he could sleep. I was surprised too.

Day 2 was castle building at the beach then onto the aquarium for the day ending with a movie at the cinema.

Day 3 took them to the Camera Obscura to see cool optical illusion stuff and Planet Earth. The night ended with a Ghost Walk down the Royal Mile.

Day 4 They were able to get their fill of Scottish history at the Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Scotland, letting off some steam that night at their disco!

Day 5 All were up early to pack up, clean up and load up with time for a shopping spree along the way before reaching Whitehaven by 4:00. Unfortunately they got a flat tire which took so long to fix they had no time to stop at the outlet stores they were so counting on.

What I found so entertaining was the headmaster's talk to the parents the week before they went on this

trip. He goes with the kids each year and knew the drill backwards and forwards. He said they try to plan many educational and fun activities for the kids but in the end all the kids are most excited about are the little trinkets they are able to buy in the various gift shops. He said you'll ask them how they liked the Castle or the Aquarium and the kids will say, "yeah, it was okay but I got this really cool pencil at the gift shop!" The next day you'll ask, 'What did you see at the Scotland Museum today?" "Oh well, saw some interesting stuff but what I really liked was this glittery pencil sharpener!" I found myself laughing because he's exactly right.

When Nathan left I told him he had to come home with two facts per day. He hadn't been off the bus 5 minutes when he was showing me the incredible trinkets he came home with: a bucket of goo, 'Noisy Putty', that makes fart noises when you pull your finger in and out of it, a green ball with penguin in it that grows when you add water, and a whoopie cushion. He is such an eleven year old boy! Could he remember the daily facts, well, not really but he had a great time and he did bring home a little trinket for each of us as well!

The headmaster talked about making sure the kids did their own packing so they would know what they actually had in their suitcase when they got there. He told us not to be alarmed if the boys came home without a shower or had somehow managed to never brush their teeth. He assured us it was a great 'growing up' experience to go on a trip without your parents. I couldn't agree more although at bedtime the night before

leaving, Nathan, who had been anticipating this day for months was now getting cold feet. Realizing he had not ever been away without some family member along too, he began to fret. I played it off as if it was no big deal but I had my doubts...mostly about the showering and teeth brushing. So as not to be without us, the four of us had each written Nathan a little note so he would have a word from home each day when he got his little envelope with spending money in it.

The girls didn't miss him terribly as their days are long and full at a different school but I really missed him. He's a chatty, thoughtful boy so it couldn't be anything other than quieter, calmer, neater but definitely lonelier without him.

They had a fantastic trip and I have to agree - Nathan did take some big steps in the growing up department. He came home with everything he took with him, he took a shower every night and actually brushed his teeth. Wow -- now that is progress!