Here is an article to help motivate those of you who
"want-a-be a Field Trip Maker and Taker!"
Making the
Most Out of Field Trips
Field Trips can be
motivational, educational, and memorable. Kids love them. Think back to your own
school days for a moment...what things do you really remember most? Chances are
that some of these memories include things you learned and experienced in unique
ways—like special projects, science fairs, field trips, etc. Why? Probably
because you were actively involved as you were learning. You weren’t just
passively sitting back and reading about something, or hearing the teacher tell
you about something. You were actively discovering things yourself. This is
learning at its best. And it’s this type of learning that we usually enjoy the
most, and remember the most.
Today, however, more and more schools are
greatly reducing or even eliminating field trips altogether. Tight budgets,
liability concerns, and ratings based upon standardized test scores may all
contribute to this trend. But this has left many schools and students in a rut.
As parent-educators, we often run into ruts ourselves. Some of us end up using
the same old things. Whatever is lying around the house (and has been used
successfully before) will work well enough again...and again...and....
Then there are those of us in pursuit of
liberty, that tend to fall into a different trap. We buy every new fad that
comes to the local home school fair or within the curriculum catalogs to try to
spice up our lessons. Oftentimes, we just end up broke and frustrated, and our
kids end up demanding that education be entertaining. Somehow, in the midst of
all of this, we miss considering the educational opportunities that are all
around us in our state, local county and city/community.
Learning doesn't have to be expensive,
boring, or inconvenient. Education is consistently happening all around us, all
the time. So the challenge is to get out of our homes and start experiencing
what is out there. With that in mind our family has made a committed effort to
design and implement field trips (or as Winnie the Pooh would say, "field
explorations").
Now a word of caution is
needed here: You can overdo and exhaust yourself doing too many fieldtrips (I
know firsthand)! The way to avoid this tendency is to set some limits up front.
Here are some of my own
guiding limits:
1. Do not do a field trip
just to do something or to get away from schooling.
A field trip that is planned out and tied
into your lessons will be much more worthwhile in every way! If you need a
break--take a day off and relax (It counts as a Teacher Day) and go to a park
for a while or over to a friend's house to play. Don’t use field trips as a
day off.
2. Only do a certain
number of trips a month and plan them several months ahead whenever possible.
We usually do two trips a month-one that costs and one that is basically a
freebie.
3. Don't wait for someone
else to organize or sponsor it-take some initiative!
This way you can set the time, date and
know all the details up front. Just make sure you share this information early
on with the others that are going.
4. Go with a few other
families that are like-minded/like-budgeted and that will assist you with the
transportation or other organizational things.
Big, local support groups are fine--but
sometimes the outings that are opened to the group at large involve alot of
call-backs, deposits, cancelled reservations, etc.—and these are very
time-consuming! Keep it small and keep it simple. You can really build
longer-lasting, deeper relationships for your children and yourself this way
too!
5. Always check out
the place you will be going as much as you can before you go--this avoids
embarrassing situations and wasted time/effort. Even if I do not do the
actual scheduling of the activity, I still make a point to call and talk to
someone there first. I find out what the expectations are of their leader for
this particular tour/talk/experience, and I get a firsthand set of
directions/maps. I can often get a "teacher packet" of instructions
and other things sent to me, which helps me plan and tie the trip into my
lessons. (One exception to this is if the place asks for only one contact per
group because of their shortage of materials/funding. Then, just ask if you can
photocopy their information for all those who will attend. Then divide the cost
among the participants).
6. Keep a field trip
file to tuck ideas into for future trips. It is easier than starting with
the yellow pages!
When I stay within my limits, I do not get
the yo-yo feeling of too much time away from home and schooling. My children are
better prepared and will thus reap the total benefits (educational, enjoyable,
memorable, social, etc.) of the trip. I have enjoyed scouting out all kinds of
possible field trips this past year for a group of about six families in our
area (about 15 children total).
NOTE: Most places that do school group
things require 10-15 children minimum to attend for it to be worth their staff
time.
We have gone to nature centers for seasonal
talks, an apple cider mill demonstration, a trolley museum, ice-skating, a
science/technological museum, a symphony/ballet performance, and sponsored a
5-week girl's cooking class and a 5-week reusable art class together. It has
been a rewarding and exciting year. Studying classical music, transportation,
seasons, inventors/inventions and home-making skills in our lessons was easily
more fascinating when the real-life model or objects were experienced up close
and personal. This is helping create life-long learning in our children and in
each of us. In fact, retention rates for material learned during our field trips
is usually at least 2-3 times higher than if the same material is read from a
book or watched on a video.
If you have never participated in home school
field trips, try one this month! Make it as instructional or as abstractly fun
as desired! Just don't be afraid to try it! I even have taken a sitter along to
help me with my little ones, so I could interact more freely! A grandparent
would probably love the opportunity to go along (and take photos). Keep a
scrapbook from your trips to act as a reminder of things discovered and learned.
Be creative and discover all the wonder of the hands-on experience. Make some
special memories for your children about home-schooling. Who knows? They may
remember more from the field trips than from the most highly acclaimed
curriculum anyway! I know mine do!
submitted in love by C.Spratley/revised 2004
