<p>It’s probably just me … but I’d like to hear from parents whose HS kids took class trips to Washington. DD’s class is going in late April. Here’s the itinerary for the 200 Ninth Graders:</p>
<p>Arrive 3:00 PM Wednesday … Leave Friday 3:00 PM: Washington Monument, WW2 Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Natural History Museum, Air & Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, White House, Capitol Tour, Supreme Court, National Archives, Holocaust Museum, Arlington Cemetery, Eternal Flame, Tomb of Unknown Soldier, Marine Corps Memorial, and Mt. Vernon.</p>
<p>Sounds identical to the trip my kids took when they were 8th graders. They all loved it. Ours may have been a 3 day trip. It may be hard to squeeze all of that in, especially if driving from CT. This was the company they used, but it didn’t included that 4th day. How long is your bus trip? Will the kids be able to do something Wed. night? </p>
<p>Both my kids did this trip as 8th graders and both survived and I admit to being nervous with the first one. If I remember correctly, they put tape on the outside of the hotel room doors (so the teacher would know who tried to wander the halls) and they also hired a security guard to sit in the hall all night. </p>
<p>Fair warning - they do return a wee bit more independent.</p>
<p>My D took a trip to from Seattle to NYC/DC when they were 8th graders( the end of her 8th grade year- technically after school was out- they fundraised all year- )- they had a great time.They met with a couple senators ( from our state), toured the above- stayed in dorms @ George Washington University and went to NYC where they stayed in a hostel in Harlem, rode a limo to see Wicked, rode bikes around Central Park and visited a classmates great-grandmother in her Manhattan penthouse, who had lived in France with her artist husband who was in the same general group of Matisse & Picasso ( apparently many original works in her place)
They were in NYC at the same time as Clinton ( Bill) was visiting, so there was some traffic disruption, but they packed it full of memories.</p>
<p>Their trip was about 10 days, and lots of parent chaperones ( apparently needed as the teachers took off)</p>
<p>That’s a pretty big itinerary for that period of time, but maybe they’re doing the monuments in the evening or early morning. There won’t be much time in those museums, unless they’re going to let them split up and choose among them.</p>
<p>our kids did this same trip as 5th graders…by train from South Florida to DC. a very looong train ride for kids but they loved the experience. they had set up a blog so parents could get a sense of how the kids were doing on the trip. kids came back exhausted but had a wonderful adventure under their belts…</p>
<p>Both my D’s did a trip with the middle school in 8th grade from SoCal to the east coast. In 8 days they did Boston, New York, Philly, Washington DC and a few other stops. It is really busy, but both kids loved it even though they were exhausted when they arrived home.</p>
<p>As a former long time resident of DC and its suburbs please inform you child that the traffic laws in DC mean the same thing as they do in your town. A RED LIGHT MEANS DON’T CROSS THE STREET. Some people, both adults and teenagers, seem to not realize that when they become tourists in DC. When they are on the escalator they should stand to the right and not two across blocking everybody else. And please, please tell them not to congregate around the Metro fare card machines especially during rush hour when people are trying to get home. Maybe they should buy all the cards they need at one time? Has that for an idea?</p>
<p>Sorry, but as much as I liked the financial contributions tourists made to the local economy some of them seemed to have left their good sense at home.</p>
<p>I did this trip in 8th grade over Spring Break…spent 2 days in Boston, 3 days in DC. Did all the monuments and most of the museums. Was EXHAUSTED when we got home, but it was a great experience. I’ve been back to DC once more since then, and it’s cool to see those places on TV and know you’ve actually been there.</p>
<p>D did this trip with the 8th graders. Parents were invited to join but didn’t have to chaperone so I went (it was nice!) It’s a lot to pack in but since all of the places your kid’s visiting are right there, it doable. And if it’s fast paced like D’s was, the kids will be too exhausted to make trouble! I personally thought some of the teachers/leaders of the other groups were more rude and disrespectful that the kids sometimes.</p>
<p>I’m going with D’s class next June. Hopefully I can drag myself home. They ride a bus from the midwest and do a few things along the way. The schedule looks incredibly exhausting. When I was in 8th grade, parents said I’d have to pay if I wanted to go, so I had no way to go. Never made it since either. This is kid #3. My H would never drive it, nor see 10% of the stuff they have scheduled, so this is my last chance.</p>
<p>I chaperoned that trip (DC) when my son was in 8th grade. I recommend the IMax theater in Air and Space. It was dark, cool, and I had a much needed nap! Four years later, I didn’t chaperone my daughter’s class. She returned home exhausted with stories to tell. All hotel doors were taped shut, but no adult noticed that the room of my d and her buddies adjoined a room of boys! Do you think any of them told a parent/chaperone? Ha!</p>
<p>The entire 5th grade of S2’s charter sch. (150 kids) went by charter bus to DC for about four days. There were lots of parent chaperones…one for every hotel room. They had a lot of fun.
Same group of kids did Philly and Gettysburg in 8th grade, also a great trip.</p>
<p>tsdad, cracking up here. My eighth grade went to DC and my largest memory is of how fast and scary the taxis were when crossing the street. We lived in a small town where the pedestrian always had an always took the right away. Not in DC. :)</p>
<p>I’ve been on the receiving end of such trips more than on trips themselves.</p>
<p>Incident #1: I was in the Franlkin Roosevelt Memorial and there is one section that has a shallow pool. There were ducks, apparently federal ducks, swimming around in the pool. The first few kids of a school group came around the corner, and as soon as the those ducks spotted the kids they immediately swam as fast as they could off to the far corner of the pool. School groups clearly meant Trouble to the birds.</p>
<p>Incident #2. I was in the National Gallery of Art looking at a special exhibit of ancient Roman artwork - sculpture and pottery, etc. It was wonderful. After about a half hour the place was mobbed with a class of shrieking 9th graders. Any chance of enjoying the art was instatnly destroyed. </p>
<p>Good luck. I hope your daughter’s experience is better.</p>
<p>Sounds like the trip my older son took in 6th grade. It was miserable - two thirds of the kids got a stomach bug (including my son), the toilets on the bus couldn’t handle the misery. They called me up because my son refused to sit with the other sick kids (he said he was better by then and he was and he didn’t want to sit there because it was stinky). Personally I think most of these trips try to do too much and the kids don’t really see much. Often they end up spending most of their time in lines.</p>
<p>I know DC well. Unless some of these are choices of either/or this itinerary seems absolutely nuts to me. You can’t possibly do these places any justice in such a limited amount of time. IMO less would be a lot more.</p>
I personally thought some of the teachers/leaders of the other groups were more rude and disrespectful that the kids sometimes.</p>
I could add a few but I won’t.</p>