Symphony Park

On Wednesday we had our last field trip of the year. We went to Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. They have a program called "Concert for Kids" by the SF Symphony Orchestra. It's a 45 minute program where they introduce children to the different instruments and how they function in the orchestra.

Now this field trip was different from the rest of the field trips we have done in the past. The main difference is that Kindergarten was not in charge of the details. All the details where giving to us at later dates and in pieces, so I felt a bit of trepidation going into this field trip.

The program began at 11:30 but we needed to be there at least 45 minutes before to get seating. We left school around 9:30, because traffic into downtown San Francisco is unpredictable, and arrived around 10:20. There was no parking for the school bus so it parked temporarily in a bus stop so we all rushed out before a Muni bus came by. There was a line formed along the side of the building so we got in. But since we weren't sure about where to check in or anything of that nature we went to the box office to ask and found out that we were in the right spot and that ushers will be coming outside shortly to escort us in.

It has been very cold recently so I felt bad for the kids having to stand outside for about hour in the blustery cold. But kindergarteners are resilient and they keep themselves warm by running in circles, jumping and others were given a little karate lesson from a chaperone.

When it was time to go in they lead us to the 1st tier (center balcony). We had a group of 100 that included all the adults and kids so we pretty much took the whole area. The kids did fairly well. For the most part they were engaged but there were times when they become antsy. The program has certain section where the kids got to participate. They sang Happy Birthday to the Symphony Orchestra because they are turning 100 this year. They clapped along with the orchestra during the Can Can and shouting out MAMBO during Mambo. It was entertaining.

After the concert we lost a few people during exiting. Some went down different stairs, others went to the restroom and some got lost in the crowd. Our poor bus driver had to park in the bus stop again because when he returned there still wasn't any space. We almost had everyone but we were miss a few and with no way to contact them to see where they were we waited anxiously hoping we wouldn't get a ticket. Once our missing party arrived we head off to have lunch.

We chose a park that was nearby the school. It was a perfect area for lunch. There were enough tables to accommodate the kids and it had a three part playground. The first part was a structure with two slides, fireman poles, monkey bars and a lot of space in between. The second had swings, "trampolines" and rock climbing. The third was a giant sandbox. The kids had an amazing time.

I enjoyed watching them be 5 years old. It got me thinking how important a proper playground is to the learning progress. Just as we adults have activities that help us release stress and decompress how much more do our kids. They have a lot more energy to release than we do and have a shorter attention span which even in the best of circumstances can be an explosive situation.

That old saying is true "All work and no play makes Jack a tired,sad,unhappy & dull boy." OK so I took some liberties, but you get my point. Working out their brain is extremely important but so is playing. Playing not only exercises the body but teaches them how to socialize, take turns, sportsmanship, fairness, sharing and kindness. It's part of a well-balanced education.

This field trip was a learning experience. We got a little culture, a little play and 63 happy kids. Overall it was a success!