FIELD TRIP MEMORIES

Our oldest son, who is now a police officer, remembers well one of his first homeschool field trips, a visit to the police station. He was only six or seven (he’s the one in the middle of the picture), but what he saw and learned on that field trip seems to have had quite an influence on the rest of his life. Interesting how that worked out.

I was trying to remember some of the other field trips we participated in with our homeschooling friends. Besides many trips to play at the park (I think they qualify as field trips!) we have been to pick blueberries, we went to the zoo (two or three of them), the post office, the newspaper, the airport, the Fort Story lighthouse in Virginia Beach, the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, the National Historic Site in Fort Smith, the Air National Guard at the airport, and I’m sure there were quite a few others.

Family vacations were our favorite field trips with visits to the Alamo in San Antonio, the Wright Brothers museum at Kitty Hawk, Yorktown battlefield, Colonial Williamsburg, many, many visitor centers at state and national parks (which usually have wonderful exhibits whether small or large), Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak in Colorado, and baseball games in many different cities (it’s fun to compare ballparks) just to name a few. Most of these visits were in the non-tourist season (since we could travel any time of the year, a great advantage of homeschooling) when the crowds were lighter, so lines were shorter and access to exhibits was easier. What wonderful learning experiences we had, not to mention the memories we will always have.

Field trips can be highly organized with a large group, or spontaneous and smaller with a group of close friends. I found a great website from The Smithsonian that tells families how to make the most of a museum visit. These are suggestions that can be used on visits to other places, too. Highly recommended reading before your next field trip!

Over the years we did a lot of field trips, and I hope you do, too, with your kids. A trip to the zoo may not mean your child will grow up to be a zookeeper, but then, on the other hand, you just never know!