Sophie’s teacher asked me if I could be the parent chaperone for their class outing this year. It took a bit of juggling schedules around, but I managed to clear most the day, especially with help from Chris.
Sophie and I caught the bus right at the end of our driveway, after the rest of the class had gotten on in the village. It was crowded. Really crowded. And there were like 5 more stops, where even more people squished in. It didn’t help that all the kids were wearing backpacks, either. But finally we made it to the train station.
Sophie has the red and black backpack and purple socks on. I point this out now, since it seems I only took pictures of her from the back 🙁 But in defense of my poor photography skills, I was trying to be unobtrusive, give her her space, and let her have fun with her friends. In that, I succeeded.
It’s the biggest class in the whole school; 23 students. Nick and Noah each only have 16. But Frau Göldi has a good handle on them, and lots of experience.
After a short train ride, we got off in Knonau and started our walk through town up to the forest. 
We only had to walk next to a street at the very beginning and the end. The kids were very good about not getting too close to the edge, or pushing other kids into the street “for fun”.
Since Frau Göldi actually knew where we were going, she took the lead, and I was the caboose making sure no one wandered off. I tried to let the kids walk as slow as they wanted, but some of them were barely moving at times. So I had to occasionally hustle them along until I could see the rest of the group again. It was good that there were several unplanned stops along the way, to give us a chance to completely catch up.
These goats were a fun surprise.
And the boys were convinced this was a bull.
But I knew even without reading the sign that it was a Scottish Highland cow. Our neighbors used to have a few, and they were always grazing in the field next to the house.
We walked a bit further into the forest, and found a great resting place. It was made even better by this “grave” the kids found.
I couldn’t actually make out all the writing, but I pretty sure there is no dead body buried under there. The Swiss love order above all things, and this is most definitely NOT a designated burial ground. 🙂
There were giant ant hills near by, but just a few stray ants where we were actually eating.
Sophie was very glad I had brought my raincoat as a picnic blanket. And do you see some of the crazy stuff the kids brought to eat? There was one kid who, I swear, had brought nothing but full packs of candy. He kept pulling out bag after bag! I guess his mom figured it would keep him happy and give him lots of energy for walking?
At this point I named these two girls the Snail Twins, and made them run to catch up to the group. They were fun to watch, though. They noticed every little bug on the path, picked up every interesting looking rock, and were always stashing “treasures” into their pockets. I’m sure their mothers loved that when they got home.
Our lunch spot was just on the other side of this lake. Some sharp-eyed children spotted this turtle way before I did.
My fire making skills were not called upon, thank goodness. Otherwise the children would have all ended up eating their sausages raw, I fear. Frau Göldi was up to the task, however, and got a roaring fire started pretty quickly.
The kids were allowed to play after they had each brought four pieces of wood for the fire. 
It ended up being quite a large pile, that we then broke down into useable sized pieces. (Most of them dragged over entire branches!) Amazingly, we ended up burning almost all the wood that you see there. I thought it was going to be way too much, but it was just right.
Sophie hung around by the adults for a bit and found some more delicious wild strawberries.
Stella also found this cute little critter, but he was definitely not for eating.
It was the first of many small frogs that were played with that day. She tried to actually take one home, but we stopped her. I am sure her mother is eternally grateful. ha
We stayed at the picnic spot for 3 hours, but the children didn’t seem to mind. There was a giant hill, covered in soft moss and cool trees to play around on. Several children also brought ropes that they tied around the trees and climbed with.
There was also a cool little fort/house thing that the kids built on to, and played in.
At this point, my camera died, so I don’t have any more pictures. But I do have a funny story to share.
Sophie’s feet were starting to hurt, another girl’s legs were tired, and their 3 friends were walking slow with them in solidarity. I was behind them as the designated last man. The others were way, way , way ahead of us. All of a sudden, this huge dog comes out from between the trees. The girls start shrieking like only 8 year old girls can, holding onto each other for protection, and trying to run away from it at the same time. I am trying to get them to stop screaming, and hold still, because it is obvious the dog just wants to play, not eat. Then the dog owner comes from his field, calling for the dog as well. But of course, it is pure pandemonium, and neither the dog nor the owner can hear each other through all the hysterical girl screaming. Finally, I think the poor dog’s ears started hurting, because he took off down the path, following the scent of all the other children.
The girls finally all calm down, and start running after the dog they were previously running away from, to try and get it back for the owner. But of course, the dog thinks they are playing, and just starts running away faster. So now they are yelling for the dog to come, and the poor owner is STILL walking along, calling and calling and calling for the dog to come back, but the dog still can’t hear him. Eventually the tired, owner (who was a farmer in the middle of raking his cut hay in the field) catches up with the dog, who has now found the rest of the group of kids. The dog led him on a path that circled the group at least 4 times before finally letting himself be caught by the collar and led back to the farm.
Then I hear the girls discussing the whole event amongst each other. “Oh, I wasn’t scared of the dog. It just surprised me.” “I wasn’t scared either. It’s just a dog.” “Well, I have a dog at home, so of course I wasn’t scared.” Hmm, that’s not how I remember it going down. And thus ended my first time on a school outing. It was really fun, and I hope I get another chance to go sometime.