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.