Teaching Tuesday: Field Trips

Since we home school, my kids miss out on all the field trips that the school kids get to go to. I don't really think they are missing much. I never really learned anything on a field trip as a kid, but I know some people are concerned. How can you pack all the experiences that come with the public school system if you have your kids at home?
What is more important, group outings and lectures, or real life experiences? Children need to learn about life in order to grow into mature adults.
All it takes is imagination, and some effort. Any of the field trips schools do can easily be done just as as family.

We just spent a day at the museum, and it is way more educational when you can answer each individual interest and question.  It doesn't have to be a museum or art gallery though. There are so many things to experience, and each one makes a child's world just a bit bigger.

Here is a list of some easy economical ways to give your children the experience they can learn from.

• Call your local Firehall or just stop in when the doors are open. One time, we saw a firetruck pulling in, so we stopped and the kids got to sit in the truck. They loved it, and now Little P wants to be a fire fighter when he grows up.
• Plan a hike through a local park. Collect leaves from different trees, hunt for bugs, the options are endless!
• Stay up late and visit the stars! See the constellations, and track the moon cycles
• Visit the zoo and see the similarities between species 
• Visit the symphony. There is nothing like hearing beautiful music preformed
• Go bird watching and try sketching the different ones you find

Any outing with your child can become an experience that you can use as teaching experience.