Monday, June 6, 2011

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

The school year is winding down (our last day is June 28th) and with that comes the call of the great outdoors. Blue skies and sunshine beckon our restless students to play tag between the trees, search for flowers, sit in the grass and blissfully enjoy being young.

To indulge them in this pursuit and to strike a balance between work and play (although to borrow from cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget, "play is a child's work") the end of the school year usually includes some fun excursions.

This year Lauren was offered tickets to take the class to see the Mets play at Citi Field - which replaced Shea Stadium in 2009 - and we couldn't resist.  Taking a group of kindergarten children to a crowded ball park does not come without stress.  But, we were able to invite several parents to accompany us which alleviated some of the worry.

We all boarded the subway to Flushing and arrived early enough to eat our lunch outside before finding our seats.  And what amazing seats they were!

At one point I was busy counting heads when the crowd suddenly let out a thunderous roar. Turning to the student on my left, I asked "what happened?" She excitedly informed me that "the guy on second tried to steal third but they got him out.  Lucky for the guy on first that he stayed put".  Color me impressed.  That is when I sent a text to her mother stating that her daughter sure knew a lot about baseball.

Our stay was brief. We could only watch about an hour of the game before we had to gather ourselves for the trip back to school. When we left it was the New York Mets 0, the Pittsburgh Pirates 6.  Had we hung around a bit longer we would have seen the third inning play that allowed the Mets to win the game 9-8.

On the way back we had a pleasant surprise from a clown who was riding the subway with us.  He got off at our stop and made balloon animals, swords and wands for all of the kids. We finished the day with a read aloud of Horray for Snail! by John Stadler.

I kept thinking that this may have been the first time - and the only time - some of these children have been to a ball game.  As the year comes to a close I wonder what they will take away from their time with me, what will they remember.  Maybe eating an ice cream cone while watching the Mets will be one of those memories.  Whatever their recollections, I just hope they leave with the feeling that learning is fun and continue to score home runs throughout their lives.

11 comments:

Barbara said...

Sounds like the perfect way to end the school year. I wish I could get as enthused about baseball as my housemate. Any time Detroit is playing, he is watching on his iPad. Then I have to remind myself that our first date was to a baseball game, so the game does have a place in my personal history!

Steve Reed said...

Bummer you couldn't stay for the crucial play! But it sounds like a great outing nonetheless. :)

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Gary said...

Barbara - Baseball is really the only sport that I enjoy watching and the only one that I know really well. I have fond memories of going to Shea Stadium when I was a kid as well as those rare nights when my parents would go to a game and leave us with a babysitter then wake us up when they returned with little gifts (tiny baseball bats and stuff like that). I still love the Mets so this was a great trip for me.

A first date at a baseball game sounds interesting. I'll have to get more details next time we are together.

Steve - I only know about their win becasue I wanted to write the final score for this blog post. I assumed the Mets had lost so I was pleasantly surprised.

Geezer - Welcome! Thanks for stopping by and for following FYB. I am going to pop over to your blog pronto.

ShirleyC said...

Hi Gary,
I tried to reply back, but you have your comments set to no-reply.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
No plans to remove the clip. I sure don't want any more surgery than necessary. I'm sure it happens quite often.
Glad to see you are a teacher, and what a challenge to be where you are!
I'm a retired teacher, and I can't even imagine a field trip and taking the subway. It was stressful enough on a school bus. LOL
School was out here on May 24th. I guess you have a lot of bad weather days up there.
ShirleyC

Betsy Brock said...

I'm sure they will remember their field trip for a good long time! And how fun that serendipity happened with the clown, too! Perfect!

Gary said...

Shirley - I love when teachers visit FYB and I hope you will return to share some of your experiences with me. Our school year does not begin until after Labor Day so that extends our 180 days until the end of June. Some schools in the U.S. start in August and get out in May. I can't believe we have only 12 school days left but the good news is that I am keeping this class in first grade so it's not good-bye.

Betsy - The clown was a perfect topper and I love how random it was to meet a clown in the subway. He was very kind. I truly LOVE NY!

Pat Hatt said...

Wow wish I had a field trip like that
But no ballparks or even amusement parks close by for one to scat
Sure they will remember that day for life
As it did anything but add strife
And the clown was a good topper for them as well
Glad he was nice and not one that would tell you to scram with a yell

Toyin O. said...

Sounds like a great end a long year of hard work for the kids.

Gary said...

Pat Hatt - How 'bout that! I love how you made a rhyme for this post, and to you I lift my glass in a toast.

Toyin - This school year has gone by much too fast. The older I get, the faster they go. Thanks for visiting.

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