Charleston with 7th Graders

Sweet Pea and Little Man's 7th grade class took an overnight field trip to Charleston, and I was lucky enough to chaperone it. I've been so blessed to chaperone all my kids' overnight field trips: Atlanta, DC, the Outer Banks, and now Charleston. 

The kids were grouped by fours (their hotel room groups), and each chaperone was in charge of two groups. Oddly enough, neither Little Man nor Sweet Pea were in my groups! I had eight boys I'd never met before, and they all had unusual names (including two boys named Abinhav), so my brain was working overtime to keep them straight. But fortunately I was on the same bus as Little Man, so at least we were always at the same location, and Sweet Pea's bus was usually not far away. 

After a long day on the bus, we made it. First stop: a bus tour of the downtown area to learn a bit about Charleston's history, then a walking tour of the College of Charleston. Next we visited the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that was commissioned in 1943 and named after the original Yorktown, which was sunk in the Battle of Midway. The kids had a great time exploring the carrier, going down to the laundry and mess, seeing the sleeping berths, and climbing all the way up to the flight deck and bridge.

After that, it was off to a bowling alley and arcade for pizza and fun until bedtime. The next morning we were up bright and early, headed to Boone Hall Plantation, one of the oldest working plantations in the US. We learned about the ways the Boone family earned money off the land -- timber, rice, and cotton -- and off the back of thousands of slaves. We toured the gardens and some remaining slave cabins, then watched a demonstration of slave music and language (Gullah) while we ate lunch on the grounds. Sean's favorite part was the smokehouse, which looks awfully similar to Homer's pig silo in The Simpsons Movie.

The plantation's famous "Avenue of Oaks" was gorgeous, especially on such a beautiful day, and I could see why it's been in so many movies.

We headed back into town for horse-drawn carriage tours of the Historic District. At this point, the tour guides were impressed at how much the kids knew about Charleston's history! The kids were especially interested in a special app the guides have: if the horse goes to the bathroom during the tour, the tour guide uses a special app to mark the exact location, and a "cleanup" vehicle arrives promptly to clean up the mess. It's part of Charleston's effort to keep their downtown looking and smelling nice (which was badly needed -- MJ's prevailing memory of Charleston from a visit years ago is of the smell from the horses).

Then the kids had some free time to explore the City Market, and I gave them each a little money to spent. Little Man (naturally) purchased a toy samurai sword. Sweet Pea purchased candy from a chocolatier that had a beautiful display.

Then we walked to the aquarium, which was small but entertaining. As we were leaving, we saw the sting rays eating, which was pretty cool!

After dinner at Golden Corral, we went on ghost tours of the Historic District. When all the groups compared notes afterwards, we realized that we'd heard different stories, which made retelling the stories extra fun. Sweet Pea told me she and her roommates slept with the lights on that night!

Our final morning, we went on a boat tour of the Charleston Harbor, out to Fort Sumpter and back. It was a great way to end our trip! The weather was gorgeous, and there was a nice breeze on the deck of the boat. Then it was back on the buses for the long drive home. 

Shepherding two hundred 7th graders on and off buses, and in and out of museums, is not for the faint of heart, but the kids were fairly well-behaved. I'm thankful my kids (and their peers) have these opportunities. We packed a ton into a few short days, but had a great time, and the kids made some special memories.