Educational Field Trips

Being able to take educational field trips is an advantage of homeschooling. Maybe my true calling was to be a travel agent – or maybe I’m just the kind of person who likes to get out and “do stuff” with my kids.

I believe that a person's education is shaped by all the experiences he or she has over the course of a lifetime. "Doing life" instead of reading about it in a book is so much more memorable.

I am not a fan of the label “field trip”, though. As a former public school teacher, I viewed field trips as just another way to check off an objective that I was required to teach. If you look at many official field trip guides, you will notice a list of “objectives” that can be fulfilled by participating in a trip. Hmmm…why can’t you just go and learn what you learn? (Does that make sense?) All learning experiences will not fit into an “objective box.”

To date, we have lived in five different states (one of those we lived in twice!) We’ve lived in big cities and on the outskirts of small rural towns. Although the choices of things to discover locally are different, everywhere we lived had plenty to keep us busy and then be sad when we moved across country before “getting to everything.” Each time we move, you can find me burning the midnight oil to find out what new experiences our new location will bring us.

Wherever you live, there are some great educational field trips just around the corner. You may have to adjust your thinking to see them.

One special difference between homeschool field trips and regular school field trips is that businesses are often more open to small groups (like one family) more so than a large group of 20 kids and their chaparones. Can you imagine having 20 kids and 5 adults in a glass blowing studio?!? I can't, but the artist was happy to have my family in for a demonstration.

Another difference is the amount of time you can spend with your children really taking in the details and all the aspects of learning that a field trip has to offer. Read an example.

I dare say we’ve been on dozens of educational field trips. I’ve planned them for just our family, for just a few friends, and for as many as several hundred people as the trip coordinator of our local support group. Here are a few things I've learned along the way….

• If you have young children, go when they are fresh. Having a tired, cranky child is a sure way to ruin a great trip for you and for those around you.

• Bring food and drinks. Even if it’s a short trip, at least pack some crackers and water. Leave them in the car if the venue prohibits them. It seems like outings have a funny way of creating an unquenchable thirst and ravenous hunger in kids.

• Enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about being a tour guide or expert teacher who is always quizzing on the most recent happenings. I have found that when my children wander through a museum exhibit at a leisurely pace, reading, asking questions, and studying details, they end up learning more than if I am constantly drawing their attention to and asking questions about this or that. I’m not saying you should never try to encourage or guide toward something of interest, just make sure that’s what you are doing, and it’s not an effort to control the inputs and make sure they “learn something.”

• If things don’t go exactly as planned, DON’T PANIC! Unexpected things can ruin your day or be a lesson in flexibility. Your children are watching your reaction!

• If your destination isn’t a typical “field trip” venue, make sure to call ahead and make special arrangements. Be prompt and appreciative on the day of your trip. Thank you notes following these types of visits are very appropriate and are appreciated by businesses.

When we were studying hearing and the ear, I saw an ad for a free hearing test. I called the office and explained that we were a homeschool family that would like to come in for the test as an exciting culminating activity for our unit. (Plus, I thought it couldn’t hurt to make sure my kids were hearing ok.) When we arrived for our appointment, we were surprised to learn that the audiologist and his wife homeschooled their children. He had blocked out extra time to spend with us explaining all sorts of things I never expected. What a bonus! I’m proud to say, he was very impressed by the amount of things my girls knew about the ear and hearing. Our thank you note had a picture of him and the kids on the front and mentioned a few things they learned in the body of the letter.

• This should go without saying, but make sure you and your children are well mannered during your homeschool field trip. Remember, small children can be overcome with excitement on field trips. Don’t overreact! Usually a quiet reminder of appropriate behavior so other can enjoy the experience is all that is needed. An incessantly nagging, overbearing parent is much more annoying than an excited child. If the behavior continues, is unsafe, or undeniably hindering others ability to enjoy the experience (say, a whiny 3 year old at the symphony) it’s probably best to leave.

Are you looking for some educational field trip ideas? Here’s an A-Z list to get you started.

Airport

Bakery

Courthouse

Dairy Farm

Emergency Services

Fire Station

Grocery Store

Hiking

Ice Skating

Jail

Kitchen of a restaurant

Library

Manufacturing Plant

Newspaper

Opera

Post Office

Quarry

Rodeo

State Fair

Theatre

USS Arizona (Ok, I know you may have to travel, but “U” is hard!)

Veterinarian’s office

Waterfalls

X-citing place for YOUR child

Yarn shop

Zoo

Homeschool Travel

My answer:

"I'm WAY out there...but if you are serious about money being no object I'd use TRAVEL as our curriculum. We'd globe trot the world to see in person what we've read about in books....Egypt, Greece, Italy, whale watching, jungle cruise, the Louvre..you get the idea. Meanwhile, we'd read great literature on our flights. Math...hmmm...maybe my husband would help. Alas, that won't be happeing unless we win the lottery -even then it probably would be enough money-but it's fun to dream."

Hopefully, I'll be able to add some information about homeschool travel soon, but have fun going on homeschool field trips around your local area for now!

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