A Field Day

Okay so it didn’t look much like the Olympics. But it was a real kick. Five hundred  kids from Wellington’s Eyestone Elementary School marched single file in time to stirring music onto a grassy playing field, each holding a tiny American flag. They sat down in tidy rows in front of a flag draped podium. Lots of them, and the teachers as well, wore red white and blue.

Okay so the grass was a little damp for sitting, but no one minded. The sun was shining and the sky was a classic Colorado blue. This year’s field day would be an event each child would remember. Adopting  Olympic and patriotic themes, physical education teacher Sandy Fetzer and her team orchestrated a many-faceted event.

Fifteen war veterans took their places on the podium and shared their names and military service. A color guard presented the flag. A talented fourth grader sang a sweet, clear version of the national anthem. There was even a fly over by a couple of model airplanes that turned everyone’s eyes upward as they dove and swooped above the playing field.

Kids held up banners reading “respect” “fairness” “responsibility” and said a few words reminding everyone what it took to be a good sport.

And then the games began. A whole day of them. Twenty-six different stations. Running and relay races, hurdles, a pillow fight on a saw horse, water spray golf, synchronized sponges. Parents, grandparents, kids from the nearby middle school and Air Force cadets from Colorado State University volunteered their time at the game stations.

Okay. So it didn’t look just like the Olympics. But kids could visit an Olympic Village booth for drinks and snacks.  And they were treated to an entire day outdoors moving their bodies, interacting with their friends, probably not realizing how fortunate they were to have an inventive pe teacher, a whole cast of willing volunteers and to live in a small rural town in Northern Colorado where field d ays are indeed a big deal.