This document provides guidance on planning effective homeschool field trips. It discusses setting goals tied to curriculum areas or personal growth. Logistics like choosing family-only or group trips and timing are important. Integrating field trips with subjects being studied allows for deeper learning. Venues may offer programs for homeschoolers. Pre-learning and follow-up lessons reinforce concepts. Self-guided or venue-led options are available. Field trips provide engaging hands-on learning outside the home.

1. Planning the Perfect Homeschool Field Trip
Opening New Possibilities for Your Kids

2. Planning the Perfect Field Trip
 There is no such thing as “perfect”:
 Tailored to your own kids’ needs, goals as a
family, group goals
 There are many such things as ideal:
 University of Arkansas study found that a single
field trip to a museum increased historical empathy
and other measures of emotional intelligence
 Students retained a great deal of the art knowledge
they learned
 Field trips create great opportunities, especially
for homeschool

3. Some Background-What Is EdTrips?

4. Getting Started
Curriculum, Goals, and Planning

5. Set Goals
 Tied to one or all:
 Curriculum area:
 Math, Art, History
 Personal growth:
 Emotional intelligence, problem-solving
 Family time
 Fill gaps:
 Child’s interest
 Your knowledge
 Curriculum
 Fun is a goal, too!

6. Logistics are Key to Content
 Ask:
As a family or with group?
All ages, or just younger, older
child(ren)?
When in the year? What will we be
covering then?

7. Integrating with Curriculum
 Look at what you are learning this year
 Base on one subject—studying the ocean
for instance
 Integrate several subjects—add language
arts, math
 Make sure it’s something that works will
all ages if whole family is going
 Get different ages to work together

8. Find the Right Program
 Subjects: holistic or specific
 Age/Grade: only a guideline, part of
the freedom of homeschooling is you
can tailor to what’s appropriate for
your kids
 Challenge is finding materials for each
age child
 Contact venue
 Go by content

9. Get Ready
 Pre-learning is essential
 Review the venue and program
 Create lesson plans for each child
 Age-appropriate take on content
 Get them ready to learn
 Provide context
 Get started about a month out

10. More Getting Ready
 Venues may have lessons and
materials specifically for
homeschoolers
 You can also find related
resources online
 So much is out there, you can
tailor to learning
style/intelligence type:
verbal, visual, kinetic
 Use multiple media:
video, worksheets, apps, books

11. During the Trip: Self-Guided
Keep kids
engaged:
Asking questions
Integrating lessons such as
sketching, photography, journaling
Use
resources:
Venue provided gallery guides
Toolkitssuch as Museum of Fine Arts
FamilyActivities
Know venue
policies:
Understand rules on
photography,sketching
Tailor easily:
Length, content tailored by choosing
different routes with parent/older
siblings

12. During the Trip: Venue-Organized
 Understands needs of multi-age
groups
 Need to understand homeschooling is
a “learning lifestyle” so kids are not
getting a break from highly-
structured classroom
 Often surprised at how well-behaved
kids are
 Often have more advanced social
skills and will ask more questions, do
well with less-structured tours

13. Lesson Plans
 Ideal lessons:
 Language Arts: Write essay before on
background, after on learning
 Visual: Draw pictures on what you
expect, sketch on-site, draw what you
learned
 Media: Record a video after trip or create a
Prezi, write a song about trip
 Online: Use HSTRY, share with family and
friends

14. Coordinating with a Group

15. Thank You!
 www.EdTrips.com
 Christina@EdTrips.com
 Twitter: @Ed_Trips