Eight is Enough

On top of working as a Para at the elementary school, I also work for the before and after school daycare. Since we were on Spring Break, the daycare went on lots of field trips to make the break more fun for the kids. On Thursday, we made a trip with the kids to the park in the big mall. What made the trip extra special is that Gerrit got to come be a chaperone. We were assigned to the eight kids in the Kindergarten and 1st grade group.

OH. MY. GOSH.

Perhaps you're thinking that eight kids isn't that many. I mean, Jon and Kate Plus 8 do this everyday. Let me tell you....we are not Jon and Kate. And at this age, they wander off and we can't strap them into a stroller. The whole day I was yelling, "EVERYBODY GRAB A HAND!" (They didn't get the "BUDDY CHECK!" concept.) At lunch I prepped each kid on what to do if a stranger talks to you. I religiously counted the kids before and after every ride. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. onetwothreefourfivesixseveneight. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7......ohmygosh......phew....8. I was counting to eight in my sleep that night.

We went on ride after ride after ride. One little guy in particular was a bit frightened of the water log ride. We'll call him "Jimmy." But by the end of the day, Jimmy conquered his fear and decided to go on it. Gerrit asked if Jimmy would like to ride with me on the ride. Jimmy said, "No, I want to ride wif you because wew best fwiends."
Another little boy (we'll call "Tony"), claimed he wasn't scared of that ride or anything else. Jimmy said, "You gotta be scawed of someTING." Tony said, "Well, I'm scawed of someting, but I'm not tellin'." Tony then whispered to me, "Want to know what I'm scawed of?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"It's ninjas."
Yeah Tony, I'm pretty scared of ninjas too. :)

Towards the end of the day, we all got slushies. Everyone's teeth and tongue were either blue or red. Even Gerrit's:
I took many adorable pictures of our little group, but since they aren't my children, I don't feel right about posting any pictures with their faces in them. However, as hyper as they were all day, this is what they looked like on the ride home:And this is what Gerrit looked like when we got home. Rough day? Now he knows why I'm so tired when I get home from work. He can't wait to chaperone again sometime!