Emma’s Field Trip to Orchestra Hall

I went to Emma’s field trip to the Minneapolis Orchestra Hall this week. Cousin Titan (who is now in her preschool class) was also there. The three of us had a lot of fun!

They run an amazing operation there. I counted at least four field trips all going on simultaneously, which took an amazing amount of traffic control.

There were a LOT of kids there from Salem. I think they had all of the preschool classes and the kindergarten class. I hadn’t anticipated the amount of work that is!

The kids got to go on stage for a personal concert. The gal who did the warm up (below) taught them to say ‘Bravo!’ when the clapped. That turned out to be one of my favorite parts, as the kids yelled it after every single note was played. The orchestra has never had such a good audience.

Each person in the orchestra came out and explained how his or her instrument works (highlighting some varied levels of skills with children). The percussionist and the harpist were the big hits of the show. My favorite was the oboist who played amazingly beautifully. We got a stern and passionate lesson on the difference between xylophones (which have wooden keys) and glockenspiels (which have metal keys), and were told that “the children’s books have it all wrong”.

Afterward, the kids got to go to the rehearsal room where they got to try to play several instruments:

…a drum (Emma’s favorite)…

…a violin…

…a cello…

…and (of course) a glockenspiel.

It was wonderful to get to spend the time with Emma and Titan. Titan is a great kid and he and Emma have become best friends, which I hope will last a lifetime for them. Both of them were VERY well behaved, which made me proud.

Emma’s First Field Trip: Aamodt’s Apple Orchard

I have to say that I am feeling lucky that I got to share Emma’s first field trip experience with her. It was fun mom & daughter time.

We had the perfect fall day to spend with the Salem Lutheran pre-school and kindergarten classes.

It was sunny and warm(ish). The outing started with a hayride out to the apple trees. Each of the kids got a bag and a lesson in how to pick an apple by one of the family owners. Emma carefully selected her perfect apple and placed it in her bag.

Next, we got a tour of the apple refrigerator – a giant walk-in cooler that smelled like yummy sweet apples! Next, we got a lesson in bees and how they help the apples grow. Of course there was an apple taste test and the kids got a snack of apple cider and apple donuts.
Here’s Emma and her buddy Tyler!

Finally, the kids got play! There was a hay bale pile to climb on, a hay bale maze, petting zoo and tractor-cycles.

Fun for mom and kiddo!