Day 14: Overnight

Today we’re taking the 5th graders to the Kennedy Space Center for an overnight trip. About 4 hours north on a charter bus with a stop on the way to stretch our legs and have a snack, check in by 3:30, explore the space center all afternoon and evening, lights out by 10:30, wake up at 6:30, some more morning exploration, and then back in Miami tomorrow by 4pm.

Maybe it’s the time of year, maybe it’s the behavior lately, maybe it’s the excitement that the kids haven’t been able to contain since they found out about it a month ago, maybe it’s the responsibility of taking sixteen 10- and 11-year-olds four hours from home for a learning experience, yes, but mainly a giant sleepover, but I’ve been pretty much waiting for this trip to be behind us. The dread has been palpable. You can see it on my face and in my body language.

“I’m a super heavy sleeper,” Z shared at dismissal. “When I’ve slept at M’s house and her phone was beeping, I didn’t wake up at ALL.”

“Me too,” J chimed in.

“Ms. Amy, what are you going to do with your hair? Mine looks CRAZY in the mornings,” R had shared at recess earlier.

“I don’t think I should know about their sleep habits!” I said, exasperated, to Kim and some other coworkers on the elevator back upstairs, to some nervous laughter.

But then last night as I packed, and this morning as I’m typing this and taking bites of my yogurt and granola, I want to readjust my perspective.

Let’s be real.

What are these fifth graders going to remember from their last year in elementary school?

Not my amazing writing or math lessons. Not the way we transitioned through the halls or our morning routine.

No. They’re going to remember what happened with their friends at recess and lunch. They’re going to remember the show they put on for their parents this past Monday. And they’re certainly going to remember this overnight field trip.

So I’m flipping the script. I’m going to try to enjoy myself on this trip and make sure the kids get the most out of it, too. I’m there with 4 other adults (Kim, Male, Christian, and one of our students’ moms). If anything goes haywire, we’ve got it. We have food, we have a first aid kit, we’ve all packed our sleeping bags and blow up sleeping mats.

All that’s left is to have fun.