One of my favorite homeschool activities is field trips. Field trips open doors to the whole body, mind, and spiritual learning. For homeschoolers, field trips open more chances to meet new people, see new things and break away from the ordinary day to day life. I needed a place to plan field trips year round so I updated my Field trip log to include a planner for organizing field trip ideas. Jump down to the end to grab your free updated copy today.
An advantage of homeschooling is that when you feel down, or stuck you can pile the family into the car and set off on an educational adventure. As homeschoolers, you have the freedom to give your child an amazing, fun, active education they could get nowhere else. Field trips hold so much value.
- meet new friends.
- see new things
- be amazed by the wonders of the world
- get messy
- become more independent
- immerse themselves into history
- observe science lessons up close and personal
- challenge their minds in new ways
- gain a respect for others
- learn something new about themselves.
I remember this one high school field trip. When I think back on it I have to admit it was one of the most life-changing moments in my life. We had gone to something called a “high ropes course.” At the time I was deathly afraid of heights. I would never step out of my comfort zone. Until I was standing up on a log 40 feet in the air. By some insane twist of fate and storm rolled in that had not been predicted with the weather report (not a surprise for Michigan really.)
The most exhilarating thing happened. Lighting struck so close I felt the heat in the air. On the ground classmates, instructors, and chaperones went into a frenzy and I was given directions to leap down. To trust that they would control my descent with the rope and harness to get me out of the trees faster than descending the latter. As my peers ran towards shelter I literally took a leap of faith.
While most field trips won’t be a defining moment in your child’s life they will make a deep impact. Your child will walk away from field trips just a little different from each new adventure. Field trips can be as simple as foraging for berries or as big as a trip to Disney and everything in between. The best part is creating memories with your child.
Save money on field trips by looking ofr deals on your local Groupon or calling locations for educational and group discounts.
Tracking homeschool field trips with this free record keeper
One challenge for homeschoolers is tracking field trips. Our first year homeschooling we went on 83 field trips in 3 different states! That was 83 days out of the required 180 days a year we were on adventures. (And people say homeschoolers never get out of the house.) Record keeping is so important for homeschoolers. You can get our NEW Updated Homeschool Field Trip Record Keeper FREE for subscribers.
When keeping records of your homeschool field trips you need to think about what your child got from the trip and how they grew as a result. Consulting your child will help you see what they liked or did not like and what things they would like to try in the future.
Sign up for our free newsletter and this printable will be delivered to your inbox. Don’t worry you will not be added more than once no matter how many printables you get and we will NEVER share your e-mail. Do not want to subscribe? Well now you do not have too you can opt to buy this printable and more in our TPT store.
Looking for Field Trip Ideas?
- Bring History to life with a trip to a historical museum
- Take your child on a wild adventure at Legoland
- Find fun spring field trips
- Or take advantage of a pumpkin patch trip in the fall
- Let go of fear and feed alligators
- Flutter around a butterfly garden
- Chase a calf at a rodeo
- Have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe
- Hit the farmers market
- Hop on by the zoo
- Drive on down to a car show
I’ve been homeschooling for 16yrs and we always went on a lot of field trips. Since living in NW Indiana there aren’t as many places to go and the roads are bad, directions are poor and so we don’t go on many. Hopefully it’ll be better when we move to Indianapolis.
Sometimes we need to get creative with field trips.
I like the idea of children recording their field trip adventures. It requires them to organize their thoughts on the experience and to re-experience it later. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you for taking the time to point out missed errors. I am quite open here about my own dyslexia and my reasoning by my choice to have help teaching subjects I myself struggle with. Spell check often makes things worse. I also do not hide that I work late at night, into the morning light so my children can be my focus during the day. We like to keep things simple because we know how tough this parenting thing can get. Thank you for stopping by.
This is our first year homeschooling. My son is 14 and middle school was an absolute nightmare! Plus my husband and I didn’t like what our son was being taught. We knew we could do better. It has been amazing to see how much our son loves to learn now. For some of our field trips we actually go camping. In every season! It makes for great biology /science lessons!