Field Trip Friday-Episode #1...by (Angela) Jean

We have started something new at Abelattanzedinio Homeschool: Field Trip Friday. My vision is that Fridays will be our day to get out of the house and do something fun and adventurous. Yesterday was the Inaugural Adventure. I had orginally planned for us to take the city bus, GO Train and subway into the city to my former office and meet a friend for lunch and get us some 'city time', but she ditched us.....some lame excuse about being too busy to take a lunch...sheesh...

Anyway, in hindsight, that trip may have been a tad ambitious for our first field trip. Plan B still involved public transit, but only our local city bus. I still have a balance remaining on my PRESTO card from back in my working stiff days, and since kids under six ride the bus for free, there was no need to scrounge for change.

I packed some provisions for the trip.

 Bundled up the kids (it was a very chilly morning) and headed out to the bus stop.

I decided, in the spirit of adventure, to visit the main branch of our local Public Library. We have two branches that are closer to our house, but main branch has a large children's department and a great selection of books. The main branch is all the way downtown so it involved a longer bus ride, and....wait for it...a TRANSFER! at the GO STATION! Lots of buses! And Trains! Can you feel the excitement?

believe me, this photo does not begin to capture the unbridled enthusiasm

The library visit went well, but I felt strange about whipping out the camera inside. People tend to look at you a little funny when you photograph their children in public places. We picked out some good books and then headed back outside to enjoy the beautiful day.

snack time

I am convinced walking along retaining walls is a childhood rite of passage

A short walk from the library is our very pretty main street. It's full of cute shops.

This is one of my favourites and since the kids were behaving so well, we went in to pick out a cookie...or two...ok, ok! Six. Sigh. There was a deal!

 The bus ride home involved a little bit of a scare. You see, Big Cat and Teddy made the journey with us, and as we were sitting in our 2nd bus at the station, about to embark on the last leg of the journey, I looked at Mimi and noticed that Biggie was missing.

Me: Mimi! Where's Biggie! Did you leave him on the other bus?
Mimi: Um...I guess so...(voice quavering, panic starting to set in)

I glanced across the bus platform and could see that our previous bus was still parked. All the buses wait on the platform for the GO Train to arrive at the station. Once those passengers board the buses, they all depart at the same time. I ran to the front of the bus and asked our driver if I could zip across to check for Biggie. She agreed to keep an eye on the kids. I ran across the platform and breathlessly explained to the driver that I needed to check for a stuffed cat. Without waiting for his reply, I ran to the back. A group of large, hoodie-and-falling-down-pants-wearing highschool students were sitting together at the back giggling. Biggie was on one of their laps. I think I arrived just in time. I have a feeling that Biggie would have met a tragic fate at the hands of these upstanding young citizens. They handed him to me and I sprinted back to the other bus.
Mimi was relieved, and I learned my lesson. Stuffies will henceforth remain in the relative safety of our home for all future Field Trip Fridays.

 We arrived home safely, and I am happy to report that, overall,  FTF #1 was a rousing success!