RAINBOW KIDSCHOOL NEWS

he annual Rainbow Kidschool bus trip to the sugarbush is always a much-anticipated outing. The excitement of venturing beyond school boundaries, not to mention the thrill of riding in the big yellow school bus, makes for a very high energy day.

For some, it's their first experience to ride the big yellow school bus. Teachers know that most of the children would be more than pleased with their day if the bus merely circled the block several times. School buses are quite an attraction to children; they feel like one of the big kids to be riding the bus.

This year seemed a little uncertain as to whether or not we would have a visit to the sugarbush. One day the weather would be extremely warm, followed by cold, rainy days and always that hint of more snow to come. We actually ventured out as the skies threatened a little of anything and everything.

The temperatures were quite cold, so we had to bundle from head to toe. We had had a torrential downpour the previous day leaving huge, inviting puddles. We spoke to the children about avoiding the puddles; we were here to enjoy the farm animals and learn about the maple syrup process.

The children loved every minute of being outside, with lots of space to explore. They were fascinated with the variety of animals and having the opportunity to feed them. Hands would stretch out ever so tentatively as hungry, eager mouths reached for the meagre morsels that hadn't as of yet fallen to the ground.

Faces lit up as the animals ate the food and little hands returned for more. Outside in the yard, the children had a variety of play structures to choose from. The puddles were everywhere. Everyone was doing their best to avoid the wet areas, but eventually one child ended up with a soaker .... a boot full of water.

"We talked about staying out of the puddles", we reminded her. "Well", she said, "I didn't realize it was that deep until I got to the middle". After a quick sock change and a plastic bag liner in the boot we were all ready to check out the sugar shack.

Unfortunately, due to the cold weather, the sap wasn't running. Therefore, the evaporator wasn't all fired up and slowly boiling the sap into syrup. We were all fortunate enough though to have a sample taste of the sweet syrup. We lined up in orderly fashion, each one eager for their turn.

One child was overheard to say, "tastes like medicine". Perhaps syrup is an acquired taste or more likely, the medicine tastes awfully yummy!

Several days after the field trip, back in the warmth of Rainbow Kidschool, we had a follow-up snack of pancakes and syrup. Good to the last drop....