How To Make Fieldtrips More Educational and Fun
I think that fieldtrips are a great way to learn! They can be so much fun and also so educational. We love field trips and try to go on one at least once a week.
There are several things that you can do to make sure that your kids are getting the most out of their field trips.
1. Check out the website of wherever you are going on a fieldtrip. Many museums will have teacher and student education units. You can print out these units and learn facts before going on your field trip.
2. Go on fieldtrips related to what you are studying. This is easy for preschoolers. We go to the garden, the zoo, the farm, or the pond just based on what we are learning about that week.
3. When you visit historical places, you can go home and research more about what was happening during that time period. What clothes were worn, what important events were taking place and who were their contemporaries.
4. Pack snacks and drinks. If your kids are hungry or thirsty, they won’t be paying attention.
5. Go back to the same place more than once. By doing this, you are able to absorb more information.
Field trip suggestions for all ages:
1. the zoo
2. a farm
3. science museums
4. train museums
5. history museums
6. your state, city and national capital
7. post office
13. rivers, ponds, streams
15. historical sites and houses
Just think about what you are studying. You can make many trips educational and fun for your kids. We will often just take walks through our woods and observe the types of trees, shrubs, birds and animals that we see. We will go looking for frogs at our pond. We have a science museum close to us that we go to a couple times a month. We are able to spend more time at each exhibit and really learn because we go numerous times and have a membership. This membership also gets us into many other science museums.
Be creative and have fun! What are some of your favorite places to go on field trips?