I’m not sure how far you live from a major city, but you have many options. For example try: a children’s museum, the zoo, a major historical attraction, state parks, county parks, a dairy farm, an apple orchard, Fire Stations, EMT/ambulance center, dentist office, radio station, bakery, a grain farmer, art museum, fisheries, different churches or synagogues, a court house, a water treatment plant, a nursery, the options are endless. Look in the phonebook, see what is available in your area. Call ahead and see if they give scheduled tours. If not, many places are willing to give private tours. Keep it simple. Plan to ask questions. Draw pictures of the experience. Write a story or make a book about the experience. Ask questions of the people, like what is fun about your job,what is hard about your job, how much training did it take to do your job………etc. Many places like the police station, hospital, dental office, etc, may have coloring books to give out to young children too, or safety books.

Good Luck and have fun!!

galsigner

O the places you can go! Anywhere that’s not actually home is a field trip when you homeschool and K is to easy but here’s a few ideas to get started with:

~The Zoo

~Children’s Museum

~Art Musuems

~Historical sights – especially when they have reenactments going on/dress up times (Williamsburg rents costumes for the kiddos)

~ Nursing Homes

~ The Hospital/Doctor/Dentist

~ The Grocery store (especially if you talk to someone and go behind the scenes)

~ a neighbors/friends homestead/hobby farm

~ the Dairy

~ The Bakery

The list really is endless -it’s all in how you view life. There are things to be learned everywhere and everyday. And really with Kindergarten there is no need for a “formal” field trip just point out life as you go, use the opportunites daily that are on hand, do nature walks, etc.

Basically, anywhere you go can be a field trip. A field trip is a trip outside of the traditional classroom, in order to learn something about where you are. Schools must limit field trips because of cost, liability, and scheduling, etc. But homeschooling parents do not have such issues to worry about!

Some of the places we have gone on field trips to are:

The aquarium, the zoo, the museum, the children’s museum (two different ones, actually), IMAX theater, serpentarium, another reptile museum aside from the serpentarium, various plantations and historic sites near our home (we live near history-rich Charleston, South Carolina).

Our trips to the post office, grocery store, etc. end up being field trips at times. The children will ask a question and we will find the answer. Often we get a behind the scenes tour that we did not plan on, but come away knowing a lot more.

Our vacations turned into field trips of sorts. We went to Disney a couple of years ago and my daughter wrote a report about the experience. Epcot offered many educational opportunities. We also visited NASA and watched a shuttle launch. Last summer, we visited DC and NYC with visits to the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, National Zoo, our first subway ride in DC and in NYC the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center site, etc.

Trips to doctors appointments, the veterinary clinic, ANYWHERE can be a learning experience. There is no limitation. Children learn best HANDS ON. You can tell them about something, but if they are there seeing it in person it is much more meaningful to them.

You can do just about anything! She’s in kindergarten… does she have anything that she’s really into? My daughter has always been into butterflies, flowers, and gardens so taking her to a park to find butterflies or look at flowers has always been an easy outing. Now she has her own garden and flowers and the butterflies come to her! There are parks, zoos, nature walks at state parks, museums (my daughter’s favorite are the ones where you get to do things like they did in the 1900’s….interactive ones), pet store, grocery stores (start teaching her math this way), a fabric store (let her make a scrapbook of colors using different types of materials…different textures). You can turn going to the gas station into a field trip (all you have to do is discuss why you need gas and how does the gas get to the station, etc etc). She is in kindergarten so you can just use a little imagination and go with it….let you sister lead the way, if she shows an interest in something then go with it!

You can go anywhere: the zoo, to a children’s museum, a historical re-enactment (they generally have children’s areas), a park play-day with similar aged kids, library story times…

Field trips with a homeschool support group or co op are wonderful. We’ve been to so many great ones – a ranch, a mountain man exhibit, nature centers, museums, even a tour of the life-flight (airlift ambulance) at a local hospital.

There are tons of things out there – have your mom check for homeschool groups in the area and find one that fits your family. There are tons of things to be involved in!

Please, check your child’s upcoming curriculum and see exactly what they are learning the next year and plan ahead the field trips that can be both fun and educational that could also focus on what they are learning that year. We seemed to like re-enactments of wars, antique museums, plantation visits, visiting the state capital and joining in on the sessions, local heritage trips, camping, nature walks, science museums, workshops of all sorts, down here in Cajun country we also just enjoy an old fashion picnic or fellowship banquet where we sit, eat, talk, and have workshops for the children to do with the adults and games that both parents and children do together which really also enforces the family unit.

A children’s museum, a natural history or science museum, children’s theater or the zoo, are all great places to take kids.

Often school groups take field trips to the local firehouse, police station, hospital. Call ahead and ask if you can bring your sister for a tour.

Check with your local parks and recreation dept. and see if there are field trips offered for homeschoolers. They may also have gym, art or music classes available.

Good luck!

I will first say this is a good decison. We took our kids from public school into private Christian schools, and much better. but still a mess, as many with difficlut kids , put their kids there to straighten up and it was still a problem. IF we had our way, we would do it all over again differently. Only Home schooling, and I know thre are ppl that write on these sites that will tell you just how to go about it, and I pray that read your question.

There are many things you can do for field trips Trips to zooes, musuems, old historic places.. so many places, and when you get in touch with one of those organizations that shows you HOW to home school, that have a whole bunch of information right there for you , so you dont have to go it alone. They are experts and boy you can learn so much. I have friends that did this and say they wouldnt reccoment home schooling without this help. Type in Home Schooling and see what comes up. And I will be praying that those who knows this already will see your question and tell you directly just where to go to do it right. and only in the way God says to do it. God bless you. Best decision your mom will ever make. The day I took my kids out of public schools, two of their teachers who happened to be Christian said to me, best decision you ever made. I said WHY DO YOU STAY HERE< WHY DONT YOU GO TO CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS?? they said that would be so easy, and many Christians do that. the public has no idea of just how bad it is. Kids dont bring it all home for open discussion, believe me. The longer my kids were out, the more I learned. But, their teachers response is they hate it and at times barley hang on, but they stay cuz a few must stay to help the kids, and they stay because God loves them and they love them. Lets all pray for our Christian teachers in these schools. Its not easy. PRAY PRAY PRAY

Science Centers

Zoo

Kid Friendly Museums

Parks

Hiking Trails

Petting Zoo

Fire Station (call first, most will give you a tour/lecture)

Nursing Home (give flowers or cards to residents)

Beach

observatories

post office (call first, if you get a group of homeschoolers you might get a tour)

environmental centers (call)

water treatment plants (call)

factories (call)

Children’s Theater

puppet shows

library

When you can, get other homeschoolers to go with you.

If this list doesn’t sound specific enough, its because you didn’t say what area you live in. I can’t say “Go to such and such museum on this street” if I don’t know what town you are in.

Have your mother check and see if there is a group of home schooling parents in your area. When I was home schooling my children, as a group we planned field trips together. It made it more fun for the children having someone their age that they could relate too. Activities could include bowling, zoos, marine parks, museums or most anything of interest to children. If I knew where you lived I could maybe suggest something specific to you.