When homeschooling your children, planning field trips is an important part of the learning process. Now depending on where you live, not all ideas here may apply, but even if you live an hour or two from a big city you still may want to incorporate what that city has to offer in terms of a possible field trip for your homeschoolers. Let’s look at some possible field trip ideas that you may find in your area.
Most towns, even the smallest, will probably have an airport. An airport field trip will be a fun place for the kids to check out the airplanes and possibly the history of the airport and the planes. It could also double as a good science lesson on how the airplanes work. Some bigger airports even have museums right there inside the airport.
Some towns of factories or plants you can tour. Fairly close by to me is a Dr. Pepper Plant, an Ozarka water plant, Peanut Butter Imporium, Collin Street Bakery, and others. Most places are willing to work with your group and will even offer a discounted price. Sometimes you can even get samples of their products to take home.
A fish hatchery is another idea you may want to look into. The children can usually fish and feed the fish as well. Take a tour of the hatchery and how it works. They may even have a gift shop for a souvenir of your trip.
Wildlife Parks and Museums are always a fun field trip for children and adults alike. Wildlife museums can show a lot of different species of animals and usually have them set up in their natural environment. There are also Wildlife Parks around where you can see the wildlife. Alligator Farms are also around some areas. I know in my area we had a Tiger Preserve and we were able to go and check out the tigers. That was pretty neat!
Most towns have skating rinks so it may be a good idea to give them a call and see if they offer days where homeschoolers are offered a cheaper price or they may even have a designated day just for homeschoolers.Of course local fairs may be a fun idea also.
In the fall you can always find a pumpkin patch to go to. Usually you can tour the patch and they will let the children pick out their own pumpkins. Pumpkin Patches I have been to in the past have even had a hayride for the kids to go on. A Corn Maze may also be a fun idea to do in the fall.
Christmastime is always a fun time for a field trip or just a time for all of the homeschoolers to get together. Possible ideas would be to go caroling in the local neighborhood. The children could also get together and do an act of service or make cards or gift baskets to give out to the elderly. There are usually places to go to look at Christmas lights so that may be a fun idea too!
Your local police and fire station would make a fun field trip. The children could see inside a real police car and maybe even inside a real jail. Children seem to always like hearing the sirens too. The same at the fire station. See real firemen and their gear. They may even get to try it on!
If you live close to a theme park it is a good idea to contact them and see if they have a Homeschool Day at the park. I know in my local area Six Flags has a Homeschool Day each year and the tickets are cheaper than on other days.
A baseball game may be a fun field trip idea. Most kids love baseball so going to a real life game would be a lot of fun for them. It may even be a good idea to check and see if they give group discounts.
Your local tv and radio stations make great field trips. The children can see the news anchors in session and see how it all works and comes together. This may even spark interest in the next Newscaster!
A Newspaper office would be a good field trip too. The children would get to see how the newspaper is printed each day and how they gather the news. I even enjoy these type of field trips. They are always very informative.
If your town has a railroad station this may be another option for your group. They can tour the station and see the trains up close and personal. They may even score a ride on one!
Planetariums make a neat field trip. The children can learn about the stars and different constellations and planets.
If your town has a local theater you could plan a field trip around a play everyone would like to see. If you have any children in the group who are interested in acting this may be something to consider. Even the children who are not interested in an acting career would enjoy this.
Maybe some of these ideas will help you plan your next homeschool field trip for this year. It may have even sparked a few ideas of your own!
