Parents Corner is a glimpse into life at Lake Forrest Preparatory School.  Follow along throughout the school year in our Parents Corner blog as we take you through a year at LFPS.

When I was a kid, like around kindergarten age, I was the coolest.  Not because of my G.I. Joe lunchbox or because I could hang upside down on the monkey bars.  I was the coolest because my mom went on school field trips with me. Maybe no one else thought it, but having my mom with me during the trips away from school made me feel like the coolest.

Now, as a parent, I have the opportunity to do the same for my kids.  Last year my daughter was in Pre-K4 and we went on two field trips. It was the best.  We got a chance to run around a corn make at a local farm and find all of the color checkpoints.  It was even the first time she rode on a zipline (so brave!) The second field trip was to Sea World and I let her lead the way throughout the park, exploring and doing whatever she wanted.

Thinking back on my hazy memories of field trips in Seattle (where I grew up), what stands out to me the most is that I can’t recall a whole lot from those early years in school.  I am sure I liked school, even though I used to fake being sick to go home early. I liked all my friends and my teachers, for sure. I remember a couple random stories from those years, like the time we brought my tricycle to school for a bike party, but the things that stick out the most by far are the field trips.  I guess it must have something to do with getting outside of the daily routine and doing something special.

This year, with my daughter in Kindergarten, we have a few more field trips in store and I can’t wait.  We recently went on our first field trip to Publix. I was super pumped for this- as I’ve written about before – I love Publix!  Walking through the different departments and watching my daughter participate and learn, I wondered what part she would remember.  She told me the best part was when she was able to scan an item’s barcode (she now looks for the barcode on everything).

Later this year, we’ll head to Epcot. I know our daughter will lose her mind (again and again).  We have been to Epcot before, but I think going with your classmates adds a whole new dimension of fun.  Seeing your friends and their parents out having fun really builds community, something our kids need so much.  And us parents do too! 

Something tells me the memories of these trips for me will be even better than those from my youth.  I hope my daughter will have vague memories of me coming along like I do from many years ago. But being on this side of things and watching her grow and learn is just about the best kind of memory there is.

Dana Nichols is a mom of two children who attend LFPS. She is an advocate for answering room mom emails and not being last to sign up for class party supplies.