Don’t laugh…I finally came up with an idea for a field trip for November.  It’s my goal to go on at least one field trip each month, which went well in September and October–I think we had a combined total of five field trips those two months.  But November had me stumped.  I don’t know of any turkey farms around here, and we don’t live near any old Pilgrim settlements, so what did that leave that would be seasonal and appropriate?

Tonight we went to Macy’s.  Yes, that’s right, we took a field trip to a department store.  Before anyone starts judging, let me justify a bit.  The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a big tradition in our family.  I loved it as a child, and I’m passing that along to our children.  Also, in school today, we read Milly and the Macy’s Parade.  

And that’s where the idea was born.  What better field trip than one about a book we read? We visited most of the departments that Milly loved that were mentioned in the book, we rode the escalator (twice!) and the elevator, we looked at the Christmas decorations, and we talked about what a great thing department stores are. No need to visit a milliner, shoemaker, tailor, and dressmaker, just to clothe oneself.  One stop shopping at it’s finest, but still classy (unlike, say, our beloved Wal Mart, with which the children are endlessly familiar!).

It was fun, it was at least somewhat educational, and it was festive.  The only thing that would have been better would have been visiting the huge Macy’s in New York City (and seeing the parade in person).  But that’s another dream for another time.