Transportation Days

Yesterday, April 7, was Joshua's "Transportation Days" at preschool. For some reason in the morning, he did NOT want to go. This is the first day I can remember having to convince him that he liked preschool and wanted to go. If it continues, I'll ask the teacher if anything happened that I should be aware of. It could have just been a fluke thing. Luckily for both of us, they had welcomed parents and siblings for this special event, so I promised Joshua that if he went, Mommy & Caleb would come with him and stay with him the whole day. He was begging to stay home and play with me, but the fact that we were coming calmed him down.

 

So, at the advice of my sister (thanks, Jen!), I packed his little bike & helmet and drove to preschool. I knew the kids were invited to bring them, but I didn't realize how big a deal it was until I talked to her and she said he would be disappointed not to have his. Boy was she right! He was not so thrilled when I had to drop it off in the designated area. He thought I was giving his old bike away. I told him we'd ride it later. Daddy told me to dress the boys in long pants even though the temperature hit the 90s that day. He felt the boys were safer in long pants if they were riding bikes and wouldn't skin their knees. Again, I'm so thankful that I listened to his good advice! A few kids did fall and have big ouchies, and Joshua did fall too. But, he was fine and got right back up thanks to his longer pants. :) :) :)

The morning started off with a craft of stringing beads on string. Soon enough, it was time to line up to head outside! If I do this event again with kids, I'm going to pack water to take along out with us. I didn't take my bag and both my kids were thirsty (along with the rest of the class). This was hotter-than-average for April, though!

The kids were so excited, as you can see on their faces above. The first stop was a classic car. The school asked parents if they knew anyone that had anything that moved. They also asked the community, I think. A lot of things didn't end up coming, from what I understand. There was supposed to be a motorcycle, but we never saw it. The aide also said a WJTL van was to be there, but again, it wasn't (maybe she had the days mixed up since this ran a few days in a row to hit all classes?).

This car was a 195(7?) convertible, and I told my kids NOT to touch it. :) The old man seemed pretty proud of his baby, which still runs well he said.

Next because of some sort of scheduling mix up, we took our turn down with the bikes. Most of the students' parents brought theirs and their helmets, and all the kids were LOVING this play time together, including the Bean. He pedaled and pedaled and went around the area, only falling once and getting right back up.

Poor little Caleb - I didn't bring anything for him to ride on (after all, this was Joshua's day, and we were just there to tag along). He was not thrilled. Neither were the other children whose parents didn't bring anything for them.

I thought the pictures of Caleb chasing the Bean were kind of cute, though, and you can see the other bikes from the various classes who would take a turn riding that day.

Joshua was so happy to be riding his bike with his friends. It was precious!

I have to say Mrs. Ford, Joshua's preschool  teacher, is in the right line of work for her giftings. She is amazing with the kids. She also thinks differently than most people, I think. Since there were TONS of bikes there not being used (since the classes went down to this area at different times) and she had a few students who didn't have a bike or helmet, she just 'borrowed' bikes & scooters from other classes for the children so they could all be happy and have a good time. I can see that they try to teach children to share, and yet it felt a little 'off' to borrow something without permission. That said, it did make sense that the kids were happy and most likely the parents would have agreed had they been there. We didn't use them long - maybe 10 minutes or so at the end?

Caleb LOVED it! I think maybe this was Liam's ride? He was one of the little guys who were were shorts and fell down and got a big skinned up knee. So, while he was getting cleaned up, Caleb took a turn riding his tricycle.

He doesn't know how to pedal yet, but he loved being on a trike while the other kids biked, scooted, triked, etc.

Did I mention it was a HOT day?!?!?!

The next station we went to was this man with the dog & van. He told his story that he used to be able to run and walk and do things other kids could do. But, at age 16 he broke his neck and can't walk or bend over or use his arms too well. So, he uses a wheel chair.

The kids listened to him and looked at his dog, wanting to pet it.

Soon enough, they got to check out his van.

Mrs. Hilton was the brave one that got all the kids with her on the ramp as the man worked the mechanics and lifted it into the vehicle. Instead of looking at how it worked, they all wanted to know where his carseats were in the back.

I couldn't believe that Joshua was brave enough to go in - he hates elevators, but I'm not sure he realized he was going to be taken up and in.

You'll see in the picture below, he's holding onto Mrs. Hilton's legs for dear life.

Two groups checked out the van before the man showed us that the dog is there to help him. If he drops his keys (which he did on purpose), the dog picks them up and gives them to him. They were thrilled with the dog, and Mrs. Ford gave him some water. That started Caleb asking me for water, which I had stupidly left in the classroom. I didn't realize that we'd be out the entire day and how hot it was going to be, etc.

Next we checked out a school bus, and the kids got to ride on it. Here they are climbing aboard.

The driver talked about bus safety and how you don't need seat belts or car seats in a school bus.

I tried to get a shot of the boys and then a shot of me & my boys (Joshua was a little nervous on the bus and grabbed hold of my arm for dear life, but nothing like poor Liam who cried the entire time)... the picture didn't turn out well since I missed Caleb's head and Joshua turned right at that moment to see some geese out the window.

The kids looked at the front of the bus for a moment and then we moved on to the next area.

Joshua was begging to see the tractor, but first we went into the camper where the kids checked everything out.

 

They liked the sofas...

...and the bed...

...and my boys liked the table...

After that, the boys & girls lined up on the step to get a group shot. I loved Joshua's little face in the picture below.

All the sudden, Joshua said "CALEB!!!! Where are you, Caleb?!?!" and my little guy went right up behind his brother and tapped him on the shoulder. Joshua seemed relieved to have found him and they both smiled. You can kind of see it in the picture below.

Next we walked as a group over to the firetruck. This was a fire engine, which is different from a fire truck in that it doesn't have water on it.

The guy was actually VERY informative. I joked with him about this being why our taxes are so high (which may be a sore subject right now since they just added a fire tax in Manheim Township). However, his presentation was really impressive and I would encourage anyone to go see all that they can do and then realize how many lives they can save with their extremely high-end equipment and training.

He showed the kids the life preservers and water rescue area, the jaws of life and car scissors, the 100+ foot ladder that Joshua was terrified of (he kept saying 'please don't make me go up the ladder and the guy kept telling him that no one was getting on the ladder today...), the saw, the two driving areas, etc.

Then he sowed them his gear and I asked how long it took him to put it all on. He said to be certified you have to be able to get everything on in 45 seconds, and his fastest time was 30 seconds. I couldn't even get my undergarments on in 30 seconds, I don't think! Haaa!!!! He handed Joshua his helmet to see how heavy it was. The Bean wasn't too sure that he wanted that heavy hat. :) :) :)

Next he tried to tie up the kids... just kidding!!! Doesn't this picture look like that, though? Haaa!!! The group before us went, and someone had left a big pole out that fell down on a small child (that group is even younger than ours). The teacher screamed, and they got an ice pack for the poor little guy. I think it's an understatement to say that this wasn't his day. :)

Speaking of not my day, I felt bad for little Liam (pictured above). He skinned his knee at the bike area, he was terrified of the bus, and after awhile he grabbed my hand and tearfully said in a quiet voice, "I want MY mom." Poor little one!

The fireman said that yesterday was a perfect day for a fire and that they'd probably get called. Little Caleb Luke was on fire. He was wearing Joshua's old shirt that says "If I don't match it's because Daddy dressed me." He got lots of comments on it. The teacher's aide also told me that she thinks Caleb will do great at preschool when he starts going. He wasn't scared of anything, and he was pretty independent as we walked around. He blended right in with the other children.

I snapped another picture of the group of kids (notice Caleb is climbing over the step), who were growing weary of being outside in the hot sun and listening to presentations.

We moved on to the boat. Joshua was still begging for the tractor, which was supposed to come next. This was a sail boat, and the man let each child who wanted to to get inside.

Brooke & Joshua were the first ones to go...

The next picture cracked me up. Doesn't it look like he's praying that nothing happens to his boat?

And I noticed that there was a motorcycle in the background. I don't think we saw it. Or if we did, I wasn't paying attention. By the time all the kids took a turn in the boat, another group got on the tractors and Mrs. Ford decided the group had had enough since everyone was thirsty.

We walked by the canoes on our way inside, and the kids got in them. These were some brave folks to let their stuff at the preschool!

Caleb got in where there was mud and water and his little pants were covered. Afterward, he kept asking me for a 'wipe!'

I liked the picture of Ethan & Joshua below as they are on their 'fake' canoe trip.

We walked back inside, and Mrs. Ford told the kids to pretend they were snakes and slither down the hall (they pretended they were a lot of things, including hopping like bunnies).

Soon they were back on their feet and heading back to wash their hands.

While Mrs. Ford read them a story, I helped clear away the crafts and get the snack set up at the tables. The kids feasted on chocolate pudding and strawberries. There wasn't enough pudding for Caleb to have one since two other kids had joined our group, but luckily Joshua didn't want his so Caleb traded his strawberries for Joshua's pudding and everyone was happy. They all enjoyed the water after the warm day!

After the snack was over, Mrs. Ford put in a video of "Boz" and another class came in to watch it for a little too before it was time to go.

We had a fun morning! When we got home, the boys napped and woke up right when Grandma came to watch them and I was leaving for Millersville. That night, we went back outside to look at more 'transportation' items as Daddy suggested we have dinner at Fiorentino's on their outdoor airport flight deck. We had a nice time, and Caleb ate a hot dog for the first time. When we got home, we continued playing outside with frisbees and footballs. Soon it was dark, and we came in for baths and night-night. It was a fantastic and busy day!