Every year, I take my kids on a completely uneducational field trip. We take a sled and a saw, and go cut down a Christmas tree for our classroom, just because we can. It's grown into somewhat of a tradition for me, and students come back to my room every year to see the new tree and reminisce about their own trip.
I run up against this thought every year, even though it never ends up mattering: This has absolutely nothing to do with anything we're learning. There is no redeeming educational value to this excursion. And I think that's okay. I think we get so caught up in standards, achievement, and testing sometimes that we forget that we are not dealing with little adults. These are not just really short 18-year-olds. They're little kids, and they need the chance to be kids once in a while. They need to roll around in snow banks, make snow angels, and wonder about the dogs tied up by the side of the road. They need to expend some of that energy that gets built up during long winter days and weeks inside. If that means taking them on a walk and hauling back a tree without once mentioning science or math or reading, or turning it into a writing assignment when we get back, then I am totally on board with that. School should not be solely drudgery, but rather should include fond memories that hopefully involve some learning.
This year's trip actually started better than previous years, mainly due to the weather. It was mostly cloudy, but no gale force winds. A little breeze was picking up, but we decided to walk towards Tank Farm - the "gas station" for the village. The road up there is lined with trees and willows, which provided a bit of a wind break.
The kindergarten class had come with us, so we were actually looking for two trees. We found a decent-looking tree for our room, and I managed to saw it down without hitting anyone in the head as it fell. The trunk was pretty small, so it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. It was a little tall, maybe about 6 feet, but it wasn't super-bushy, so it wasn't too heavy. The kids helped me carry it down to the road and got it situated on the plastic sled we had brought for that very purpose. We found a tree for the kindergarten, and Wanda and I eventually got it hacked down.
The trip back was a little slower. We were pulling two trees, the kindergarten tree kept falling off the sled, and the little ones were getting tired. At one point, though, I was walking down the road, holding hands with a kid on each side, pulling the sled behind us. Walking in a winter wonderland, completely content. I honestly wondered if life could get any better than that.
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| These kids are such troopers! |
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The real adventure started when we got back to the classroom. We got the tree in the stand and started to screw in the screws that are supposed to hold the tree in place. Remember how I mentioned that the trunk wasn't too too big around? Well, the only problem with that is the trunk of the tree wasn't quite big enough around. Even with the screws all the way in, the tree was wobbly and threatening to fall over. I leaned it towards the TV stand, praying it would hold, while we went next door for hot chocolate and Rice Krispy treats with the kindergarteners.
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| Just looking at it makes me chuckle, even now! |
Then came the challenge of stabilizing the darn tree enough to put some sort of decorations on it. Stringing lights was a challenge, as I needed about four hands to hold the tree and the lights. After getting the lights on it, I leaned the tree against the whiteboard and gave the kids little ornaments, with instructions to put theirs on a branch that had no other decorations. That kept them occupied for about 5 minutes. :-)
After school, I was working with some older students in my room to complete an assignment for the course that I'm taking right now. Without warning, the tree tipped all the way over, crashing into some tubs of books and spilling water everywhere. Between the 5 of us in there, we got the tree set back up and scrunched into a corner to keep it from tipping again. Wanda came in not long after that, and as I shared our latest incident, she said she had some wood blocks that we might be able to jam into the stand to stabilize the trunk. I got the older students involved in an activity, and then Wanda held the tree steady while I took the screws out enough to jam blocks into the stand.
Thanks to her, the tree is now standing straight and proud, a paragon of beauty, filling the room with the delicious piney scent that is synonymous with the holiday season.
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| It looks a little scraggly, but it works for us. I must say, though, you can tell we're all short because most of the decorations are down at the bottom. :-) |
