June 4, 2025 • 30 mins
Hey, friends! On The Family of One Podcast, I’m reminiscing about the wild and joyful field trips I organized with my Little Local Adventure group to—a worm farm, car dealership, and motorcycle shop! From tiny hands touching squirmy worms to big giggles around shiny bikes, these moments with my only child were pure magic. I’m sharing those stories plus my best tips for planning fun field trips for your family.
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By Foa Comment. “Spring Children Story” (WeVideo). Contact: joyfulgathersco@hotmail.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
UNKNOWN (00:00):
so
SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Hey amazing Only Child Mums, I'm 4 Comment, your
part-time working mum friend wholoves Yahweh, family and fun.
Welcome to the family of onewhere we share joys and
adventures of raising an onlychild.
Expect relatable stories,parenting laughs and faithful
(00:25):
tips.
Let's make small family lifeenjoyable.
Welcome back.
I am so glad that you're hereand this episode I'm going to
talk about, do you like worms orhave you been to a car sales
(00:46):
place?
Why?
It's because I was going throughmy cell phone and I saw some
pictures pop up and And we had afield trip when I was organizing
field trips for Little LocalAdventures.
Now, for those who had juststarted listening, you're like,
(01:07):
what was that Little LocalAdventures?
It was a group of, this groupwas made up of stay-at-home
parents.
It also had grandparents.
And we had some parents who hadtheir children at preschool.
So I had a mixture of all sortsof families.
(01:30):
And I, at that time when Oliviawas two and a half, maybe three
and up, I had organized avariety of field trips.
So the group grew a lot.
And as this group was growing, Iwas looking for just a variety
of places that I could takefamilies to just explore and
(01:56):
learn, as you do, about thecommunity that you live in.
And one of the places that I waslucky enough to come across was
a worm farm.
And how that came about, I thinkI was just Googling just some of
the things in our community.
So that's tip number one.
(02:17):
You want to find out what isavailable.
Look at what's going on in thecommunity or ask other people or
on Facebook.
Or maybe there might be someonewho knows of a person who that
has an interesting farm.
So we went to a worm farm.
(02:37):
And what was cool about thisworm farm, for example, I think
they had 49,000 worms or maybeit was like 80.
It was like, oh, it was a lot.
It was a lot, a lot, a lot,thousands and the thousands of
worms.
And when we went to go and visitthis farm, they had these worms
(03:00):
and I think they put it alltogether And these buckets and
then eventually what they did,they took their worms out and
then they planted it.
They put the worms, they spreadit on their farm, on their land.
But they told us the reason whythey do this and what type of
soil.
It wasn't any type of soil.
It was a specific worm and howthey, you know, looked after
(03:24):
their worms.
And then also what they did withthe fertilizer and how they
sowed.
Once they got the soil, theywould bag it from start.
So it was really good.
You got to see the process fromstart to finish.
And funny enough, I think I didlike three, two or three field
trips within that month.
(03:44):
And it was so interestingbecause one, like again, I had
to ask the owner, is there abathroom?
That's a big tip.
If you're organizing field tripsfor little ones, always ask, Is
there a bathroom that you canuse just for emergencies?
Because we all know sometimes,you know, we tell your child,
(04:07):
hey, you need to go to thebathroom.
They're like, yeah, well, ifyou're like me, I need to go to
the bathroom, even though I justwent to the bathroom.
That's a good tip.
Two, when I was organizing thisfield trip, at that time, Olivia
didn't need a stroller.
But I had a mom and she hadtwins.
(04:30):
And she asked me, look, can mystroller, am I able to push it
around the farm?
And it's a double wide.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
I didn't know because I'm justkind of catering it to what I
need.
So these are another good tip.
If you are, you have families,it's always good to ask what,
(04:54):
just be aware of what some ofthe needs are and just to make
sure that at least you have atick box.
So if a mom is able to have astroller there, that's good.
If not, you know, you would justlet her know, hey, I don't have,
you don't have room to bringyour double wide, you know, your
stroller or whatever.
It may, It'd be best if you'regoing to attend this field trip,
(05:18):
this outing, to bring anotherperson and another adult with
you so you have someone to helpyou.
And so the worm farm, that wasawesome.
And I always try and make thetrip at least 40 minutes, an
hour tops.
So it starts and then itfinishes within the hour.
(05:39):
Any longer, I felt like for my,you know, my little ones and my
families, it was too long.
And one thing, because everyonehas different, you know, nap
times and got differentroutines.
So what worked for me is one,bathroom, two, strollers,
access, three, the timeframe, 40minutes to an hour, and four, I
(06:04):
didn't always, I made sure thenumbers were, Well, my magic
number for me was 10.
It's either 10 to 12 people alltogether.
Any more, then I find out thattoo many people, it's hard for
children.
Maybe they want to ask questionsor parents.
(06:26):
And if you have too many beyondthat, you know, Someone might
not get their question in orthey might want to keep asking
certain questions.
They just need more time toprocess.
So you want to make, for me, itworked out smaller groups.
10 is the most I had per groupor 12 was pushing it for
(06:49):
majority of my field trips.
And so it was really got nice.
And I like the hands on.
I'm using all my senses.
So when the lady explained it,you know, she just didn't talk
about the worms.
I went to one field trip.
Oh, my goodness.
And we're at this farm andlovely lady.
(07:11):
But she held up a picture of acat and also held up a picture
of a dog.
Now, she it was a farm.
And she had a cat and she couldhave brought her cat along.
And she's talking to us.
And then she was like, okay,here's a picture of a cat.
How many legs does a cat have?
(07:31):
Does anyone know what a cat is?
And we're like, it would havebeen best if you just point to
the cat that's behind you oreven brought your cat along
instead of holding up pictures.
Because I find that withchildren...
If you have the real thing, likeif you have a cow, show us the
(07:53):
cow instead of having a pictureof a cow.
It goes a lot further and thekids don't get distracted.
And if they talk too long...
We're all going to get bored.
And I was like, oh my goodness.
But this is one of the firstfair trips.
So usually as another one aswell, this worked for me.
(08:14):
So if you are organizing fairtrips for your friends or even
just for your family, I alwayshad a group of, and I would call
them my test, my test group.
So which means is I will take myfamilies, my core team, test
(08:34):
group and then we would run theprogram first.
And that way, when I introduceit to the larger groups, as I
brought on more the second andthird or fourth group, I've
already worked out the kinkswith the first group.
And that gave me time becauseusually when I explain it to the
(08:55):
teacher or to the organizer, tothe person who we're having the
field trip with, you know what Isay and then what they say
sometimes is just amisinterpretation of that
conversation.
And also I'm like, oh, that'snot what I meant.
So by the time I brought in thesecond, third or fourth group,
I've already...
(09:16):
got those kinks out andsometimes like the bathroom
breaks or maybe some you know anactivity rained way too long and
so when the second group cameand we made it shorter or we
needed to make it longer orsomething else so that why it
was best if for me when I'mrunning something especially
(09:36):
with families and little onesand if I have more than I think
Like the biggest time, I hadabout, I don't know, 80 people.
And I did little pockets ofgroups.
I just had a group of 10 peoplefirst.
And that way, it was a lot moresmoother.
(09:56):
It was a lot more happierexperience as the more groups.
But here's the thing.
When I first started doing this,right, because I was the one
running it, I would have to goto the second time, the third
time, and fourth time.
(10:17):
And those were funny becauseOlivia, she was like, the
second, depending on what thefield trip is, if we're going
the second time, third time,fourth time, she's like, no,
I've seen it.
I've experienced it.
I'm done with it.
And sometimes I'll be like,okay.
Oh, my goodness.
She'll be like, I don't want togo, which was right.
So then I end up finding, I endup booking for the fair, man.
(10:41):
I said, look, you guys will needto go by yourself.
Everything is all set up foryou.
But yeah, my child, really, whowants to go four times to the
same place unless it's likesomething, like for me, if I'm
going to go visit that placetwice, four times once a week,
it better be a buffet.
(11:02):
Something that I can eat reallygood food.
So yeah, that was hilarious.
So with the worm farm, it wasawesome.
So when we came onto theproperty, they talked about the
type of worms and I don't knowwhy it's called a midnight.
Was it a midnight worm?
I don't know, but some fancyname.
It was really good.
But they were like, not yourworms that you would find in
(11:25):
your garden.
There was a specific worm.
Maybe, did they import it fromsomewhere else?
I don't know.
But then they gave the worms,they put it in this machine, and
it kind of like sifted up thedirt, and then you could pick up
the worm.
Ooh, to touch that worm and allthe kids, it was hilarious.
(11:46):
Everyone getting their worms outfrom their buckets, and then
you're carefully trying to,transporting that worm into
another bucket, putting dirt onit.
And then you're learning aboutthe worm.
So it was really good justgetting that hands-on.
And then another experience isthe car sales.
(12:09):
It was hilarious because therewas one car dealership.
I don't know what it was.
I can't remember.
Maybe it was Ford.
Maybe.
But it was a local cardealership.
And I was thinking...
Maybe I could call if we cancome and have a field trip.
You're wondering, a field tripat a car dealership?
(12:30):
What?
So they kind of said the samething.
And I said, well, some of ourfamilies, well, actually, I
asked all my families, have youbeen into this car dealership?
And they said no.
And I was like, well, why don'twe go there?
and learn about the differenttypes of vehicles.
And if there is certain carsthat our kids can go touch,
(12:53):
smell, you know, try, you know,put the seatbelt on, and we can
learn about how they change thetire and things like that go
into the vehicle.
And the garage, I don't know,the place where they fix the
cars.
You would think I would knowthis stuff.
(13:14):
Anyhow, so it was really good.
And I only did that one time.
I didn't go twice.
Some field trips, you've got toknow you can't do it twice
because one, they, you know,they have staff and they're not
always going to have staff.
if you're a big group like meyou can only do it one time so
it was really interesting and itwas really good too so they did
(13:35):
like little packets of um theyput like little juice boxes and
a candy and some fruit snacksfor the kids when it was time to
leave but they i think thedaughter of the person who owned
the car dealership she came outand she talked about the
different types of cars but asshe was talking they did allow
(14:00):
this you know the children to goin the cars and just you know
they're really nice I mean someof the kids they were like
really jumping they weren'tjumping up and down but I was
like oh my goodness and They letthe kids go in and out, sit at
the back, you know, touch thesteering wheel.
(14:22):
They were really good.
They said, that's okay.
We purposely had certain carsout so the kids and the families
could really feel like it'stheir car, which was so good.
I mean, they were veryhospitable, which impressed my
families.
Did they buy a car that day?
But no.
(14:43):
But here's the thing.
it gave them like a positiveexperience where if you're going
to buy a car because of thekindness and because of how they
were treating the families I'msure they're like I remember I
(15:04):
had that positive experience atthe car dealership if I want a
car or know someone or if theywant a particular brand I'm
going to refer them to this cardealership so they're really
super cool and they didn't rushand so there were other families
there and And it was popularwith the dads.
A lot of dads showed up on thisone.
And also, there was like amotorcycle shop.
(15:26):
And I asked the dads about thatone as well.
We had some.
And that was a good day.
They let the...
Okay, I'll just stick with thecar.
So...
Then when we were all inside andwe got to see the cars inside,
they took us to the place wherethey fix it, like the shop at
(15:46):
the back.
Now, we couldn't go too close,but they did sit all the
children and the parents just tothe side.
And then they would explain thedifferent tools that they used
to fix the cars.
So that was really cool just tosee, you know, the car go up on
the side.
was on the lift and then themechanic spoke to the children
(16:09):
like hey you know have you seenthis before blah blah blah do
you have any questions and so itreally sparked some of the kids
like curiosity on how and whattool and why are they using, air
compressor.
I mean, it was really good.
So the parents really enjoyedit, even though you wouldn't
(16:31):
think about something takinglike a car dealership, a field
trip.
And so that also was with likethe motorcycle.
When I asked them, that wasjust, I took a big group there
as well.
It was one group because weweren't doing it two or three
times.
And so what this was, shop didthey bought a lot of their
(16:55):
motorcycles outside and so thekids they When they explained to
them, they put us inside theshop and they said, okay, we're
going to tell you the rules.
And then they explained like ahelmet and they asked questions.
Has anyone been on a motorcyclebefore?
And then they took us outsideand all the motorcycles outside,
(17:16):
they said, you know, as long asa parent is with a child, the
child can sit on the motorcycle.
And so it was awesome.
Awesome.
I mean, a lot of parentsabsolutely enjoyed that.
I mean, if you, because there'ssuch a variety, and I think with
(17:38):
this motorcycle particularstore, they make their own, like
everything.
And yeah, they make their ownmotorcycles.
And so it was just so neat tohave Hands On again.
And that was about 40 minutes toan hour.
And then they took us, they hada workshop behind the, at the
(18:02):
back of the store and theyshowed us you know, how they
make it.
And they introduce us to thepeople who put the motorcycles
together.
And then they also, it's just acuriosity of the kids and even
the parents, just to see themboth learn and grow together.
(18:24):
And that's what you want.
When you're taking, when you'reorganizing trips, even for
yourself, I love to, I want tobe curious as well, because I
feel like if, yes, that yourchild is learning, but if you're
like, it's like, okay, I'm readyto go.
(18:45):
And if your child's not ready togo and you want to go, you're
kind of like dragging, lagging.
So if I do activities that, andI'm organizing it, is I like to
pick things that will excite me.
Yeah, there's probably going tobe some things I'm like, hmm,
it's more for Olivia.
But as I was doing this more, Ireally wanted to find something
(19:09):
that would be my interest aswell.
And I try to look for thingsthat we both have the same
interest We would be both happyto be there because we can both
share, we can both talk, we canboth ask questions or even like
talk to each other.
Sometimes I didn't ask questionsto the person that I was
(19:31):
meeting.
you know, on the day, I'm askingOlivia and they'll be like, so
when we come home, we will sharewhat we learn.
We will draw pictures.
We will also share with myhusband or share with family
members.
So it is like a, absolutely likea conversation and it's like
creates good memories.
(19:52):
So I'm hoping when you, Takesimple things like a car
dealership or maybe, you know,some unique places like a worm
farm or, you know, you mighthave a motorcycle shop or even a
bike shop.
You probably have some things inyour local community that, okay,
(20:17):
so we went to our, we also havea hardware store where they sell
things where you can like paint,things like you need to fix your
homes, things like where you buystuff.
It's a local store, right?
UNKNOWN (20:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:33):
You could ask the owner once again, like, what is
your purpose of wanting tolearn?
My purpose was always one.
I wanted the parents, me andOlivia, to learn and grow
together and learn about thepeople in their community.
Because one, you know.
They are in your community.
(20:55):
They have a business.
And isn't it good when you'relearning about people who are in
your community?
They might have something thatyou may want to purchase or
maybe something that they canhelp, a service that you need
later on.
So I thought that's good.
And two is one, you're bothlearning and growing and
(21:18):
exploring together, right?
And I feel like when you'rehaving fun doing that and you're
using all your senses, thenthat's great.
So you might want to cater foryou.
So if you're thinking, I don'tknow what to do.
I don't know where to go.
I always encourage you, what doyou want to learn with your
(21:40):
child?
And you just cater it toyourself and the age that your
child's at and the season thatAnd you don't have to have a big
group.
You can just do it with you andyour child first.
Or if you want to take yourfamily and do it like that.
And then if you feel like, hey,maybe I want to invite more
people.
And I did that because I wantedOlivia to get to know, and I
(22:05):
wanted to have friends.
Because most of my friendsthat...
They already have children andthey're stay-at-home parents.
Our timetable were differentbecause their children were a
lot older and Olivia was, youknow, a lot younger.
And so I couldn't always meetwhen they wanted to meet because
she was going to have a nap.
(22:28):
And they were like...
elementary they're already inschool and so they had a
schedule but my mornings werealways free and I wanted to do
something and I wanted to dosomething fun but I also wanted
to share the experience not withjust her but with other people
so we can both make friends soand two again is there a
(22:50):
bathroom we can use just in caseand And two, what about the, if
you're bringing other families,can they get their, if they
needed a pram or a trolley orstroller, can they use it while
(23:11):
they're there or do they need tobring another adult?
And as for the cost, I alwaystry to make it best to, if I
could get it free, just for afew dollars.
If it's more than$5 or$6, it'sbecause it's like a legit, I
don't know, tourist tour placeand you can't make it any
(23:31):
cheaper.
But I always try and find freeor more affordable things first
before I started asking familiesfor money.
to pay for the entry fee yeah soi hope that really encourages
you as you're listening i'mgoing to do some more um just
(23:55):
just share some tips on what youcan do in your daily maybe
there's even like a store likethere might be a nail salon Have
you ever thought about, hmm,maybe I'll go into a...
I mean, like, maybe you go to anail salon all the time.
Well, maybe you can turn thatinto a little trip with your
friends.
(24:16):
Like...
Is there a time when they're notthat busy?
Because you don't want to go atime when they're busy and they
have a lot of customers.
You want to pick a time thatthey're available to talk,
share, and your group can havefun.
So maybe a nail salon or theremight be a place.
I don't know what it's called.
Is that where they sell trees?
(24:40):
A nursery.
I don't know what they'recalled.
We went to a place where theysell lots of different trees and
plants.
You learn about all of that aswell.
You think with all these names Iwould know, right?
Oh my goodness, we did so many.
And then we also went to thepolice station as well and fire
station.
(25:01):
So moms, I just want to continueto encouraging you that you are
doing the best you can with thetime that's given, with the
resources you have.
Remember, you are amazing, mom.
You truly are.
I mean, I just want to continueto encourage you when you're
(25:22):
listening to this podcast.
When I'm saying you're the bestmom for your child, I am
reminding myself I am the bestmom for my child.
And also, it is truly when I sayyou are doing the best you can
with the time that's given, withthe resources you have.
And it's always such a goodreminder.
(25:43):
Why?
Because you are raising yourchild to be the best that they
can be with the love andencouragement that you are
giving them.
And as you're learning aboutyourself and you are teaching
yourself every day and you'relearning and growing to love
(26:08):
them.
Because I am doing that too.
As Olivia is growing, And indifferent seasons, I'm reminding
myself, I am the best mom forher.
And I am learning as best as Ican with the time that's given,
(26:31):
with the resources I have.
And I am just going to continueon and learn and grow about
myself, about my husband.
And her as well.
That's a lot.
And I'm okay with that.
(26:51):
Some days are good and some daysbetter.
So that's why I wanted toencourage you.
You are doing amazing.
So I want to continue to justthank you for listening to this,
the podcast, The Family of One.
And also to remind you abouthave fun when you're doing field
trips or when you're meetingpeople or when you're wondering,
(27:12):
shall I, if you ever need somelike, huh, one of this will be a
good field trip.
please drop me, just reach outto me.
I have a fan mail and you justlook for the link.
I have a fan mail and justconnect with me and I will
definitely reach out to you.
(27:34):
I will.
If you wonder, will I?
I will.
And saying that as well, I justwant to say thank you to those
who listen to my podcast.
And I just want to give a shoutout to the ones who listened.
This one is from Komodo, fromTokyo, in Wetong.
(27:55):
I know I didn't say that well,from Connecticut.
I just want to say to you, tothe two listeners, those that
listened last week, The lastpodcast.
Thank you so much.
I absolutely appreciate it justfor your encouragement.
(28:15):
And if you're wondering, shouldI do a podcast?
Look, yes, you should.
You should do a podcast becauseif I can do a podcast, you can
do a podcast.
And what do you talk about?
Talk about something that youenjoy.
And so once again, I just wantto say, and these are the shout
out to the new listeners wholisten to my podcast from
(28:40):
Madrid, from British Columbia,and once again from Connecticut
and Tokyo.
Thank you so much for listening.
Those are the new locations andmoms.
I also am still working on,because I talked about a
(29:01):
previous episode about how Icreated a book for Olivia.
It was like an icebreaker bookabout periods.
And she also had a question tome about bras.
UNKNOWN (29:19):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:19):
mom I have a question here about bras and I
was thinking maybe I shouldwrite a book about bras just an
icebreaker I don't know so I'llkeep you up to date when I have
my book available um I'll show asample of it it's still in
progress just a sample of whatmy period book looks like maybe
(29:45):
you'll be inspired to write yourown book icebreaker books for
your child maybe we can shareSome tips, I don't know.
But if you have a question, onceagain, about any field trips, or
maybe you have a question youjust want to ask me in general,
yes, please reach out to methrough the fan mail.
(30:06):
I would love to help you outwhere I can.
So once again, thank you forlistening of the Family of One
podcast.
This is for, and I'll meet youin the next episode.
Bye.
so
SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Hey amazing Only Child Mums, I'm 4 Comment, your
part-time working mum friend wholoves Yahweh, family and fun.
Welcome to the family of onewhere we share joys and
adventures of raising an onlychild.
Expect relatable stories,parenting laughs and faithful
(00:25):
tips.
Let's make small family lifeenjoyable.
Welcome back.
I am so glad that you're hereand this episode I'm going to
talk about, do you like worms orhave you been to a car sales
(00:46):
place?
Why?
It's because I was going throughmy cell phone and I saw some
pictures pop up and And we had afield trip when I was organizing
field trips for Little LocalAdventures.
Now, for those who had juststarted listening, you're like,
(01:07):
what was that Little LocalAdventures?
It was a group of, this groupwas made up of stay-at-home
parents.
It also had grandparents.
And we had some parents who hadtheir children at preschool.
So I had a mixture of all sortsof families.
(01:30):
And I, at that time when Oliviawas two and a half, maybe three
and up, I had organized avariety of field trips.
So the group grew a lot.
And as this group was growing, Iwas looking for just a variety
of places that I could takefamilies to just explore and
(01:56):
learn, as you do, about thecommunity that you live in.
And one of the places that I waslucky enough to come across was
a worm farm.
And how that came about, I thinkI was just Googling just some of
the things in our community.
So that's tip number one.
(02:17):
You want to find out what isavailable.
Look at what's going on in thecommunity or ask other people or
on Facebook.
Or maybe there might be someonewho knows of a person who that
has an interesting farm.
So we went to a worm farm.
(02:37):
And what was cool about thisworm farm, for example, I think
they had 49,000 worms or maybeit was like 80.
It was like, oh, it was a lot.
It was a lot, a lot, a lot,thousands and the thousands of
worms.
And when we went to go and visitthis farm, they had these worms
(03:00):
and I think they put it alltogether And these buckets and
then eventually what they did,they took their worms out and
then they planted it.
They put the worms, they spreadit on their farm, on their land.
But they told us the reason whythey do this and what type of
soil.
It wasn't any type of soil.
It was a specific worm and howthey, you know, looked after
(03:24):
their worms.
And then also what they did withthe fertilizer and how they
sowed.
Once they got the soil, theywould bag it from start.
So it was really good.
You got to see the process fromstart to finish.
And funny enough, I think I didlike three, two or three field
trips within that month.
(03:44):
And it was so interestingbecause one, like again, I had
to ask the owner, is there abathroom?
That's a big tip.
If you're organizing field tripsfor little ones, always ask, Is
there a bathroom that you canuse just for emergencies?
Because we all know sometimes,you know, we tell your child,
(04:07):
hey, you need to go to thebathroom.
They're like, yeah, well, ifyou're like me, I need to go to
the bathroom, even though I justwent to the bathroom.
That's a good tip.
Two, when I was organizing thisfield trip, at that time, Olivia
didn't need a stroller.
But I had a mom and she hadtwins.
(04:30):
And she asked me, look, can mystroller, am I able to push it
around the farm?
And it's a double wide.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
I didn't know because I'm justkind of catering it to what I
need.
So these are another good tip.
If you are, you have families,it's always good to ask what,
(04:54):
just be aware of what some ofthe needs are and just to make
sure that at least you have atick box.
So if a mom is able to have astroller there, that's good.
If not, you know, you would justlet her know, hey, I don't have,
you don't have room to bringyour double wide, you know, your
stroller or whatever.
It may, It'd be best if you'regoing to attend this field trip,
(05:18):
this outing, to bring anotherperson and another adult with
you so you have someone to helpyou.
And so the worm farm, that wasawesome.
And I always try and make thetrip at least 40 minutes, an
hour tops.
So it starts and then itfinishes within the hour.
(05:39):
Any longer, I felt like for my,you know, my little ones and my
families, it was too long.
And one thing, because everyonehas different, you know, nap
times and got differentroutines.
So what worked for me is one,bathroom, two, strollers,
access, three, the timeframe, 40minutes to an hour, and four, I
(06:04):
didn't always, I made sure thenumbers were, Well, my magic
number for me was 10.
It's either 10 to 12 people alltogether.
Any more, then I find out thattoo many people, it's hard for
children.
Maybe they want to ask questionsor parents.
(06:26):
And if you have too many beyondthat, you know, Someone might
not get their question in orthey might want to keep asking
certain questions.
They just need more time toprocess.
So you want to make, for me, itworked out smaller groups.
10 is the most I had per groupor 12 was pushing it for
(06:49):
majority of my field trips.
And so it was really got nice.
And I like the hands on.
I'm using all my senses.
So when the lady explained it,you know, she just didn't talk
about the worms.
I went to one field trip.
Oh, my goodness.
And we're at this farm andlovely lady.
(07:11):
But she held up a picture of acat and also held up a picture
of a dog.
Now, she it was a farm.
And she had a cat and she couldhave brought her cat along.
And she's talking to us.
And then she was like, okay,here's a picture of a cat.
How many legs does a cat have?
(07:31):
Does anyone know what a cat is?
And we're like, it would havebeen best if you just point to
the cat that's behind you oreven brought your cat along
instead of holding up pictures.
Because I find that withchildren...
If you have the real thing, likeif you have a cow, show us the
(07:53):
cow instead of having a pictureof a cow.
It goes a lot further and thekids don't get distracted.
And if they talk too long...
We're all going to get bored.
And I was like, oh my goodness.
But this is one of the firstfair trips.
So usually as another one aswell, this worked for me.
(08:14):
So if you are organizing fairtrips for your friends or even
just for your family, I alwayshad a group of, and I would call
them my test, my test group.
So which means is I will take myfamilies, my core team, test
(08:34):
group and then we would run theprogram first.
And that way, when I introduceit to the larger groups, as I
brought on more the second andthird or fourth group, I've
already worked out the kinkswith the first group.
And that gave me time becauseusually when I explain it to the
(08:55):
teacher or to the organizer, tothe person who we're having the
field trip with, you know what Isay and then what they say
sometimes is just amisinterpretation of that
conversation.
And also I'm like, oh, that'snot what I meant.
So by the time I brought in thesecond, third or fourth group,
I've already...
(09:16):
got those kinks out andsometimes like the bathroom
breaks or maybe some you know anactivity rained way too long and
so when the second group cameand we made it shorter or we
needed to make it longer orsomething else so that why it
was best if for me when I'mrunning something especially
(09:36):
with families and little onesand if I have more than I think
Like the biggest time, I hadabout, I don't know, 80 people.
And I did little pockets ofgroups.
I just had a group of 10 peoplefirst.
And that way, it was a lot moresmoother.
(09:56):
It was a lot more happierexperience as the more groups.
But here's the thing.
When I first started doing this,right, because I was the one
running it, I would have to goto the second time, the third
time, and fourth time.
(10:17):
And those were funny becauseOlivia, she was like, the
second, depending on what thefield trip is, if we're going
the second time, third time,fourth time, she's like, no,
I've seen it.
I've experienced it.
I'm done with it.
And sometimes I'll be like,okay.
Oh, my goodness.
She'll be like, I don't want togo, which was right.
So then I end up finding, I endup booking for the fair, man.
(10:41):
I said, look, you guys will needto go by yourself.
Everything is all set up foryou.
But yeah, my child, really, whowants to go four times to the
same place unless it's likesomething, like for me, if I'm
going to go visit that placetwice, four times once a week,
it better be a buffet.
(11:02):
Something that I can eat reallygood food.
So yeah, that was hilarious.
So with the worm farm, it wasawesome.
So when we came onto theproperty, they talked about the
type of worms and I don't knowwhy it's called a midnight.
Was it a midnight worm?
I don't know, but some fancyname.
It was really good.
But they were like, not yourworms that you would find in
(11:25):
your garden.
There was a specific worm.
Maybe, did they import it fromsomewhere else?
I don't know.
But then they gave the worms,they put it in this machine, and
it kind of like sifted up thedirt, and then you could pick up
the worm.
Ooh, to touch that worm and allthe kids, it was hilarious.
(11:46):
Everyone getting their worms outfrom their buckets, and then
you're carefully trying to,transporting that worm into
another bucket, putting dirt onit.
And then you're learning aboutthe worm.
So it was really good justgetting that hands-on.
And then another experience isthe car sales.
(12:09):
It was hilarious because therewas one car dealership.
I don't know what it was.
I can't remember.
Maybe it was Ford.
Maybe.
But it was a local cardealership.
And I was thinking...
Maybe I could call if we cancome and have a field trip.
You're wondering, a field tripat a car dealership?
(12:30):
What?
So they kind of said the samething.
And I said, well, some of ourfamilies, well, actually, I
asked all my families, have youbeen into this car dealership?
And they said no.
And I was like, well, why don'twe go there?
and learn about the differenttypes of vehicles.
And if there is certain carsthat our kids can go touch,
(12:53):
smell, you know, try, you know,put the seatbelt on, and we can
learn about how they change thetire and things like that go
into the vehicle.
And the garage, I don't know,the place where they fix the
cars.
You would think I would knowthis stuff.
(13:14):
Anyhow, so it was really good.
And I only did that one time.
I didn't go twice.
Some field trips, you've got toknow you can't do it twice
because one, they, you know,they have staff and they're not
always going to have staff.
if you're a big group like meyou can only do it one time so
it was really interesting and itwas really good too so they did
(13:35):
like little packets of um theyput like little juice boxes and
a candy and some fruit snacksfor the kids when it was time to
leave but they i think thedaughter of the person who owned
the car dealership she came outand she talked about the
different types of cars but asshe was talking they did allow
(14:00):
this you know the children to goin the cars and just you know
they're really nice I mean someof the kids they were like
really jumping they weren'tjumping up and down but I was
like oh my goodness and They letthe kids go in and out, sit at
the back, you know, touch thesteering wheel.
(14:22):
They were really good.
They said, that's okay.
We purposely had certain carsout so the kids and the families
could really feel like it'stheir car, which was so good.
I mean, they were veryhospitable, which impressed my
families.
Did they buy a car that day?
But no.
(14:43):
But here's the thing.
it gave them like a positiveexperience where if you're going
to buy a car because of thekindness and because of how they
were treating the families I'msure they're like I remember I
(15:04):
had that positive experience atthe car dealership if I want a
car or know someone or if theywant a particular brand I'm
going to refer them to this cardealership so they're really
super cool and they didn't rushand so there were other families
there and And it was popularwith the dads.
A lot of dads showed up on thisone.
And also, there was like amotorcycle shop.
(15:26):
And I asked the dads about thatone as well.
We had some.
And that was a good day.
They let the...
Okay, I'll just stick with thecar.
So...
Then when we were all inside andwe got to see the cars inside,
they took us to the place wherethey fix it, like the shop at
(15:46):
the back.
Now, we couldn't go too close,but they did sit all the
children and the parents just tothe side.
And then they would explain thedifferent tools that they used
to fix the cars.
So that was really cool just tosee, you know, the car go up on
the side.
was on the lift and then themechanic spoke to the children
(16:09):
like hey you know have you seenthis before blah blah blah do
you have any questions and so itreally sparked some of the kids
like curiosity on how and whattool and why are they using, air
compressor.
I mean, it was really good.
So the parents really enjoyedit, even though you wouldn't
(16:31):
think about something takinglike a car dealership, a field
trip.
And so that also was with likethe motorcycle.
When I asked them, that wasjust, I took a big group there
as well.
It was one group because weweren't doing it two or three
times.
And so what this was, shop didthey bought a lot of their
(16:55):
motorcycles outside and so thekids they When they explained to
them, they put us inside theshop and they said, okay, we're
going to tell you the rules.
And then they explained like ahelmet and they asked questions.
Has anyone been on a motorcyclebefore?
And then they took us outsideand all the motorcycles outside,
(17:16):
they said, you know, as long asa parent is with a child, the
child can sit on the motorcycle.
And so it was awesome.
Awesome.
I mean, a lot of parentsabsolutely enjoyed that.
I mean, if you, because there'ssuch a variety, and I think with
(17:38):
this motorcycle particularstore, they make their own, like
everything.
And yeah, they make their ownmotorcycles.
And so it was just so neat tohave Hands On again.
And that was about 40 minutes toan hour.
And then they took us, they hada workshop behind the, at the
(18:02):
back of the store and theyshowed us you know, how they
make it.
And they introduce us to thepeople who put the motorcycles
together.
And then they also, it's just acuriosity of the kids and even
the parents, just to see themboth learn and grow together.
(18:24):
And that's what you want.
When you're taking, when you'reorganizing trips, even for
yourself, I love to, I want tobe curious as well, because I
feel like if, yes, that yourchild is learning, but if you're
like, it's like, okay, I'm readyto go.
(18:45):
And if your child's not ready togo and you want to go, you're
kind of like dragging, lagging.
So if I do activities that, andI'm organizing it, is I like to
pick things that will excite me.
Yeah, there's probably going tobe some things I'm like, hmm,
it's more for Olivia.
But as I was doing this more, Ireally wanted to find something
(19:09):
that would be my interest aswell.
And I try to look for thingsthat we both have the same
interest We would be both happyto be there because we can both
share, we can both talk, we canboth ask questions or even like
talk to each other.
Sometimes I didn't ask questionsto the person that I was
(19:31):
meeting.
you know, on the day, I'm askingOlivia and they'll be like, so
when we come home, we will sharewhat we learn.
We will draw pictures.
We will also share with myhusband or share with family
members.
So it is like a, absolutely likea conversation and it's like
creates good memories.
(19:52):
So I'm hoping when you, Takesimple things like a car
dealership or maybe, you know,some unique places like a worm
farm or, you know, you mighthave a motorcycle shop or even a
bike shop.
You probably have some things inyour local community that, okay,
(20:17):
so we went to our, we also havea hardware store where they sell
things where you can like paint,things like you need to fix your
homes, things like where you buystuff.
It's a local store, right?
UNKNOWN (20:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:33):
You could ask the owner once again, like, what is
your purpose of wanting tolearn?
My purpose was always one.
I wanted the parents, me andOlivia, to learn and grow
together and learn about thepeople in their community.
Because one, you know.
They are in your community.
(20:55):
They have a business.
And isn't it good when you'relearning about people who are in
your community?
They might have something thatyou may want to purchase or
maybe something that they canhelp, a service that you need
later on.
So I thought that's good.
And two is one, you're bothlearning and growing and
(21:18):
exploring together, right?
And I feel like when you'rehaving fun doing that and you're
using all your senses, thenthat's great.
So you might want to cater foryou.
So if you're thinking, I don'tknow what to do.
I don't know where to go.
I always encourage you, what doyou want to learn with your
(21:40):
child?
And you just cater it toyourself and the age that your
child's at and the season thatAnd you don't have to have a big
group.
You can just do it with you andyour child first.
Or if you want to take yourfamily and do it like that.
And then if you feel like, hey,maybe I want to invite more
people.
And I did that because I wantedOlivia to get to know, and I
(22:05):
wanted to have friends.
Because most of my friendsthat...
They already have children andthey're stay-at-home parents.
Our timetable were differentbecause their children were a
lot older and Olivia was, youknow, a lot younger.
And so I couldn't always meetwhen they wanted to meet because
she was going to have a nap.
(22:28):
And they were like...
elementary they're already inschool and so they had a
schedule but my mornings werealways free and I wanted to do
something and I wanted to dosomething fun but I also wanted
to share the experience not withjust her but with other people
so we can both make friends soand two again is there a
(22:50):
bathroom we can use just in caseand And two, what about the, if
you're bringing other families,can they get their, if they
needed a pram or a trolley orstroller, can they use it while
(23:11):
they're there or do they need tobring another adult?
And as for the cost, I alwaystry to make it best to, if I
could get it free, just for afew dollars.
If it's more than$5 or$6, it'sbecause it's like a legit, I
don't know, tourist tour placeand you can't make it any
(23:31):
cheaper.
But I always try and find freeor more affordable things first
before I started asking familiesfor money.
to pay for the entry fee yeah soi hope that really encourages
you as you're listening i'mgoing to do some more um just
(23:55):
just share some tips on what youcan do in your daily maybe
there's even like a store likethere might be a nail salon Have
you ever thought about, hmm,maybe I'll go into a...
I mean, like, maybe you go to anail salon all the time.
Well, maybe you can turn thatinto a little trip with your
friends.
(24:16):
Like...
Is there a time when they're notthat busy?
Because you don't want to go atime when they're busy and they
have a lot of customers.
You want to pick a time thatthey're available to talk,
share, and your group can havefun.
So maybe a nail salon or theremight be a place.
I don't know what it's called.
Is that where they sell trees?
(24:40):
A nursery.
I don't know what they'recalled.
We went to a place where theysell lots of different trees and
plants.
You learn about all of that aswell.
You think with all these names Iwould know, right?
Oh my goodness, we did so many.
And then we also went to thepolice station as well and fire
station.
(25:01):
So moms, I just want to continueto encouraging you that you are
doing the best you can with thetime that's given, with the
resources you have.
Remember, you are amazing, mom.
You truly are.
I mean, I just want to continueto encourage you when you're
(25:22):
listening to this podcast.
When I'm saying you're the bestmom for your child, I am
reminding myself I am the bestmom for my child.
And also, it is truly when I sayyou are doing the best you can
with the time that's given, withthe resources you have.
And it's always such a goodreminder.
(25:43):
Why?
Because you are raising yourchild to be the best that they
can be with the love andencouragement that you are
giving them.
And as you're learning aboutyourself and you are teaching
yourself every day and you'relearning and growing to love
(26:08):
them.
Because I am doing that too.
As Olivia is growing, And indifferent seasons, I'm reminding
myself, I am the best mom forher.
And I am learning as best as Ican with the time that's given,
(26:31):
with the resources I have.
And I am just going to continueon and learn and grow about
myself, about my husband.
And her as well.
That's a lot.
And I'm okay with that.
(26:51):
Some days are good and some daysbetter.
So that's why I wanted toencourage you.
You are doing amazing.
So I want to continue to justthank you for listening to this,
the podcast, The Family of One.
And also to remind you abouthave fun when you're doing field
trips or when you're meetingpeople or when you're wondering,
(27:12):
shall I, if you ever need somelike, huh, one of this will be a
good field trip.
please drop me, just reach outto me.
I have a fan mail and you justlook for the link.
I have a fan mail and justconnect with me and I will
definitely reach out to you.
(27:34):
I will.
If you wonder, will I?
I will.
And saying that as well, I justwant to say thank you to those
who listen to my podcast.
And I just want to give a shoutout to the ones who listened.
This one is from Komodo, fromTokyo, in Wetong.
(27:55):
I know I didn't say that well,from Connecticut.
I just want to say to you, tothe two listeners, those that
listened last week, The lastpodcast.
Thank you so much.
I absolutely appreciate it justfor your encouragement.
(28:15):
And if you're wondering, shouldI do a podcast?
Look, yes, you should.
You should do a podcast becauseif I can do a podcast, you can
do a podcast.
And what do you talk about?
Talk about something that youenjoy.
And so once again, I just wantto say, and these are the shout
out to the new listeners wholisten to my podcast from
(28:40):
Madrid, from British Columbia,and once again from Connecticut
and Tokyo.
Thank you so much for listening.
Those are the new locations andmoms.
I also am still working on,because I talked about a
(29:01):
previous episode about how Icreated a book for Olivia.
It was like an icebreaker bookabout periods.
And she also had a question tome about bras.
UNKNOWN (29:19):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:19):
mom I have a question here about bras and I
was thinking maybe I shouldwrite a book about bras just an
icebreaker I don't know so I'llkeep you up to date when I have
my book available um I'll show asample of it it's still in
progress just a sample of whatmy period book looks like maybe
(29:45):
you'll be inspired to write yourown book icebreaker books for
your child maybe we can shareSome tips, I don't know.
But if you have a question, onceagain, about any field trips, or
maybe you have a question youjust want to ask me in general,
yes, please reach out to methrough the fan mail.
(30:06):
I would love to help you outwhere I can.
So once again, thank you forlistening of the Family of One
podcast.
This is for, and I'll meet youin the next episode.
Bye.
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