Last month, we all took a trip to Butler’s Orchard, courtesy of The Meltzer Group. The trip was a lot of fun! Before we departed FLOC on our way to the pumpkin patch, the families were excited to spend time getting to know each other as they waited for the bus. They enjoyed having the opportunity to chat about their lives and their children outside of the formal events we have at FLOC. The students, on the other hand, used the time to play games like Monopoly, Connect 4, Life, and their version of an office environment.
The fact that they became so comfortable and friendly with one another before the trip helped when assigning folks to different groups. My main goal in forming groups of families was to ensure that every child and parent was accounted for before and during our trip. However, I did not realize that because they had spent so much time together before the trip, the groups helped families get to know each other on a more personal level.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by the very friendly staff of The Meltzer Group and Butler’s Orchard. They welcomed us with delicious hot dogs, apples, baked goods, beverages, and smiles! We also had an opportunity to make s’mores and warm up by the two fire pits that were closest to us. After eating, we took a fun hayride trip around the orchard, which ended up being creepier than we had anticipated.
The families and I were extremely grateful to have the opportunity to attend this event, and we look forward to attending it next year!
(Aurin Agramonte is the NTP Bilingual Program Coordinator at FLOC).
