Kade's Fourth Grade class got to experience a most awesome all day Field Trip! Unfortunately, Brock did not get this adventure when he was in fourth grade due to COVID. Still, Kade was really excited—and I was just as thrilled to chaperone!
After a few hours of driving (and yummy Bojangles for the road trip), I arrived in Atlantic Beach! The kiddos (and teachers) were traveling in style in a Coach bus!
Once we arrived, the chaperones got with their groups = Kade with three of his besties that he got to pick himself! We had a little over one hour to explore the Aquarium and started at the Otter exhibit first.
We love turtles!
The boys loved this big tank with all kinds of fish and a few sharks!
Seahorses!
I was excited to see the Aquarium had some outdoor spaces. This was a very cool spot to spy wildlife in the Intracoastal Waterway in Bogue Sound.
We found the outdoor playground too - much needed after the kiddos were all cooped up on that bus for so long! They needed to get some of that energy out!
My Kade is not shy and talked his way into getting a ride on the swing multiple times!
After exploring the rest of the Aquarium, we looped back to visit the otters one more time. This time, they were having a blast snacking on treats from their balls and water jugs!
Time to go to the next stop! Tried to get a good photo of Kade behind the waterfall - he was not interested.
Back on the road!
The kiddos ate their lunches on the bus and I was glad I had packed one for myself to enjoy while I made the trek back up to New Bern.
I remember touring Tryon Palace many many years ago with my family, of course not fully appreciating all the history behind the property.
The Revolutionary War is part of the fourth-grade curriculum, which made this field trip especially exciting and meaningful!
We divided into groups, and our first activity was learning how different drumbeats were used to communicate commands during the Revolutionary War.
Kade was one of the last few kiddos remaining at the end of the game!
Second activity was listening to guides show off items typically used by people that lived during that time - toothbrushes, rifles, flint fire starters, etc.
I think everyone was getting a little tired from the day at this point.
As seen in this picture from Kade's teacher - that is me in the bottom right with a blue shirt trying to convince my son that I cannot just take him home at this time, we have to stay and continue with the tour. He was reaching his limit....
Finally inside Tryon Palace! It was so cool! It is a reconstruction of the 1770 Governor's Palace that unfortunately was destroyed by fire in 1798.
These are restored coronation portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte, originally painted in the 1760s.
Main "Floating Staircase" inside the Palace!
Not exactly everything from the 1770's.... we found the air conditioning vent along the floor and Kade was thrilled to get some cool air on his legs. This is the face of a child DONE with learning about things.
End of trip class picture!
Brock has been attending his virtual Chess Club meetings every Friday and was thrilled to finally meet in person for the end-of-year tournament! Members were split into groups of four, each playing three matches.
Brock rocked it and won all three matches - winning the coveted golden first place trophy!
All smiles!
