To make the most of homeschool field trips you need to do some planning and leg work. Homeschool field trips are a great way to help your children learn more and remember what they are learning by bringing complex lessons to life. A well planned and executed field trip can leave your child with new knowledge that they could never get without the added experiences.
Before your field trip
Before your field trip work with your child on lessons that tie together what they will be learning on the trip to lessons you are already doing in your curriculum. If you use unit studies in your homeschool you can take advantage of field trips to round out your unit studies in new and exciting ways. Look for plenty of books and hands-on activities that will go along with your planned field trips.
If your field trip location has a website stop by and look for any corresponding educational materials they location may offer. A lot of hot field trip spots have free printables and resources to help school teachers plan to make the most of their field trips. These resources are perfect for homeschoolers that want to make the most of homeschool field trips.
During your field trip
While on your field trip talk to your child about what they are learning and bridge connections to things they have already learned. Stop and as questions that encourage your child to observe things more closely. Encourage your child to try new things when the opportunity arises. Take time to read plaques that give extra information to help your child learn new fascinating facts as you explore.
If possible try creating a fun scavenger hunt that will encourage your child to look a bit closer at different things you know the location will offer. A quick online search can help you find things to add to your scavenger hunt. Because kids can not take the items they find, have them take a photo of each item they find on the scavenger hunt. These same photos can be used for projects after your field trip.
After your field trip
When you get home and have had some time to wind down and rest you can make the most of your homeschool field trip by using things you gathered from photos to pamphlets on your field trip to make a fun scrapbook. Use a scrapbook to preserve lessons and memories that your child can look back on. This doubles as a great addition to your homeschool portfolio.
After your field trip, it is a good idea to talk to your child about what they liked or didn’t like about the field trip. Creating a questionnaire for older kids to fill out is a great way to find out what your child really thought about your field trip and what they took home from the overall experience. You can use your questionnaire get ideas for future field trips you can make part of your homeschool that catches your child’s interest.
Field trips are a great perk of homeschooling. Make yours memorable AND educational with these amazing tips for making the most out of your next homeschool field trip.
PS: For field trip ideas head over here, and for Georgia specific ideas head here.
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