Noah at Ladew Gardens

Call me a terrible mom but I really dislike going on field trips with my kids. If it was just me and my child, no problem. But being responsible for other peoples' children? Hate it!  A few years ago I was one of the chaperones for Xander's 1st grade field trip to the aquarium and it was such a nightmare that I came home with a massive headache, swearing that I would never do that again! Last year I got out of it but this year Xander begged and pleaded with me to sign up as a chaperone that I finally gave in, crossing my fingers  that I would not be chosen in the chaperone lottery drawing.  Well, no such luck. I was chosen for both Xander's and Noah's field trips. Lucky me! (said with sarcasm dripping) So, on a lovely spring day I met Noah's class at Ladew Gardens for an adventure in nature.

I have been to Ladew Gardens several times because the kids' preschool classes always had a field trip there. It is a beautiful place and they actually do a fabulous job teaching young kids about nature. The kids all received a check list - when they spotted something from their paper, like a bird or a spider or animal tracks, they could mark it off with a sticker. Cute idea and definitely kept the kids on the alert!

Learning about animal tracks.

Taking a sniff of some kind of flower.

Ah ha! We spotted some deer tracks!

There are lots of fun things to look for in the ponds and mud and muck...

as well as under logs.

We spotted this little salamander. The kids also saw turtles, a snake, and even the entire skeleton of a deer!

One of their favorite activities was pretending to be bees and spreading pollen from flower to flower.

Taking a little rest...the cute girl on the end is one of Noah's very best friends, Ava. She's such a little cutie!

Checking off some topiary. I loved all the topiary, especially the hound dogs chasing a fox.

One must always remember to take time to smell the flowers!

Noah and water! He can't seem to keep away from the stuff!

Ladew Gardens is definitely a beautiful place.

Checking out the carp.

And this was my nightmare spot...three little boys leaning quite close to the pond. I kept telling them to be careful and NOT fall in. One little boy from a different group had fallen in in this exact spot but my boys were able to stay on the shore, thank goodness.

After lunch the kids spent some time rolling down the hills.

Overall it was a wonderful field trip and I'm glad I got over my reticence and went with my No.