Adding Field Trips to Your Homeschool

Tagging along

Participating in Field Trips Other People Plan
One of the great things about having a homeschool network is the field trips that will become available to you. Whether you participate in formal or informal networks, field trip opportunities and invitations will regularly come to your attention.

The best thing about field trips that someone else plans is that you usually don't have to do much of the planning work required. Although someone does the planning work, that doesn't mean that you should plan on not being responsible for anything. Any field trip takes a lot of work; you should help with this work even if you aren't in charge of the field trip.

When you receive a field trip invitation, evaluate the opportunity with the following points in mind:

• Does the field trip fit into my lesson plans? If so, figure out how you can best use the field trip to benefit the lesson.

• If it doesn't fit into my lesson plans, can I create a lesson to take advantage of it? Some field trips are worth taking even if you have to create some lesson plans to incorporate them into your homeschool.

• If the field trip doesn't really fit into my school plans, should I take it anyway? Some trips are just a lot of fun or they provide opportunities for learning without necessarily directly relating to the topics you are teaching.

• Do I have the time and money (if applicable) to participate?

• Are the people planning the field trip responsible and do we get along? Some people are good at planning and conducting field trips and some aren't. A poorly planned and executed field trip might not be worth the time or money it can require.

If you are invited to participate in a field trip, make sure that you inform the person who is planning the field trip about your decision whether you participate or not. Planning a field trip is often heavily dependent on the number of people participating so keeping the planner informed is very important.

If you accept an invitation, inform the planner about the number and ages of the students who will be attending. If you want to participate as well, make sure that you let the planner know. (You will often attend homeschool field trips along with your kids.)

Next, make sure you obtain and read any information that is provided for the field trip. This information usually includes details such as the date, time, location, transportation arrangements, cost, and so on. Pay particular attention to any response dates, such as when any money is due.

If you will be available, offer your assistance to the trip's leader. There are usually lots of tasks associated with a field trip. Being a responsible homeschooler means that you are willing and able to pitch in.

After that, follow any instructions that are provided to you. For example, make sure you show up on time, have met any financial obligations, such as purchasing tickets (most of the time, the planner will do this for you).

During the field trip, support the trip leader in any way you can. Help that person keep any eye on kids, communicate with personnel associated with the field trip location, and so on. Field trips are usually group functions; be as helpful as you can be to the group.

After the field trip is complete, make sure you understand any follow-up obligations. At the least, a thank you note to the trip's planner is called for. Later in this chapter, you'll learn about some of the ways you can integrate the field trip into your homeschool.