Field Trips
Who says homeschooling has to happen at home? Most homeschoolers will tell you that they spend almost as much time out of the house as in it. Field trips are learning opportunties that offer fun ways to make every life experience a learning experience. You'll also find tips and strategies for planning, managing, and attending field trips with your homeschool support group.
Resources
Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-watching, Shore Walking
With Jim Arnosky as your guide, an ordinary hike becomes an eye-opening experience. He'll help you spot a hawk soaring far overhead and note the details of a dragonfly up close. Study the black-and-white drawings -- based on his own field research -- and you'll discover if those tracks in the brush were made by a deer or a fox.
In his celebrated style, this author, artist, and naturalist enthusiastically shares a wealth of tips. Jim Arnosky wants you to enjoy watching wildlife. He carefully explains how field marks, shapes, and location give clues for identifying certain plants and animals wherever you are. He gives hints for sharpening observational skills. And he encourages you to draw and record birds, insects, shells, animal tracks, and other finds from a busy day's watch.
Community Field Trips in Alaska
CiCi's Pizza Field Trips
CiCi's Pizza offers Lunch & Learn Field Trips for school groups. This is a hands-on workshop at CiCi's designed by teachers to help kids develop basic math skills. Students use pizza ingredients and other related items to solve problems, and in the process make and enjoy their very own pizza! They offer beginner, intermediate and advanced math level curricula.
Factory Tours in Alaska
Musk Ox Farm
The Musk Ox Farm, located just outside of Palmer, Alaska, a 50-minute drive from downtown Anchorage, is home to a unique domestication project which began in 1954. The Musk Ox Farm is an ideal place to observe and photograph these animals at close range. On the tour you'll learn about the history of the musk ox, a prehistoric remnant of the last great Ice Age, and how it has been domesticated on the farm. You'll see cows, powerful bulls, and tame yearlings. The Musk Ox Project promotes the use of qiviut (the fine under-wool of the musk ox) as the basis of an Arctic native textile industry, which provides an economic supplement to subsistence communities throughout Alaska.
Alaskan Brewing Company
Located in Kirkland, the Alaskan Brewing Company offers tours of its facilities. Visitors to Alaskan Brewing hear about the history of brewing in Alaska and the 100 year old recipe that inspired their flagship Alaskan Amber Beer. You will learn how they make their unique and award winning Alaskan Seasonal Smoked Porter. View the brewing, fermentation and bottling systems. Browse the historical collection and gift shop.
Theobroma Chocolate Factory Tour
Take a tour of this delightful little chocolate factory in Sitka and you may be offered a free sample of their deliciously decadent chocolate truffles.
The Great Alaskan Bowl Company
Tour the factory of the Great Alaskan Bowl Company in Fairbanks to learn about their rare technique of the bowl-making process firsthand. They use state-of-the-art equipment to turn hardwood into beautiful bowls, mugs, vases, and more.
Alaska Mint
Tour the northern-most mint in the United States located in downtown Anchorage. The Mint is open to the public for self-guided tours. Watch the minting process in progress along with giant gold nuggets, a 10’ gold scale, authentic assay furnace, and running sluice box.
Field Trip Tips & Guidelines
A Field Trip Should Not Be a Free-For-All
A reminder of the importance of teaching children respect and proper behavior when out enjoying field trips.
10 Rules for Taking Field Trips
At the beginning of each school year, it would be a good time to have a field trip manners lesson with your support group. Parents and children alike sometimes need to think about what it’s like to be a docent or tour leader. Perhaps your group would even like to consider creating some field trip rules. The rules in this article are ten examples.
Field Trips in a Large Family
There are lots of things to love about a large family, but being agile and moving about quickly isn’t really one of them. Learning in action and experiencing something first hand is one of the best things about homeschooling. It’s often what really sets apart our education from that of a traditional brick and mortar school. It is worth it to make the effort for field trips, though it doesn’t necessarily make them any easier!
The Ultimate Guide to Field Trips for Homeschoolers
Field trips don’t have to be elaborate or cost of ton of money to be both fun and educational. Some of the best “field trips” are a nature walk and park lunch with friends. Especially when your children are young, keep them simple. Nature walks, zoos, and local places like the bakery, pizzeria, greenhouse, post office, police station, fire station, coffee shop, you name it you can tour it!
Homeschooling Field Trips :: Planning an Adventure
Field trips make learning fun for you and your kids, and they give everyone a break from the routine of books, pencils and computers. Field trips are a wonderful way to instill the value of lifelong learning in your children, as you both experience and discover new places together. Sometimes getting out of the house for a day gives you a little inspiration, or a spark of curiosity, reaffirming just why you chose to homeschool in the first place. These ideas will help you make the most of your field trips.
Field Trip Planning Form
Helpful form for getting organized when planning field trips. Free and printable.
How to Plan a Successful Field Trip
One of the highlights of homeschooling is a fun field trip. With the flexibility that homeschooling offers, the world is our oyster, right? Why read about something in a book when you can go experience it firsthand. Planning field trips, however, can be stressful. It doesn’t have to be, though. Read through tips that can help you plan successful field trips for your homeschool group.
Planning Homeschool Field Trips: 10 Things To Do Before You Go
Children enjoy field trips because they’re able to explore new destinations. Parents enjoy field trips because they offer children hands-on learning and specialized information. Farms, museums, gardens, landmarks, industrial centers, battlegrounds, and businesses are great field trip destinations. Educational opportunities at these sites are plentiful, so homeschool parents will want to venture out so their children can glean valuable information. However, in order to experience a worthwhile field trip, some advanced planning is necessary. Here are ten things to do before you go on a homeschool field trip.
10 Tips for Finding and Planning Homeschool Field Trips
While it may be easy to understand the value in visiting the aquarium, history museums and other great field trips, a good field trip can provide much more than interesting facts and new discoveries. Field trips don’t have to be complicated or expensive in order to be effective. These ten tips will help make your planning go smoothly.
Field Trip Guidelines
Some helpful guidelines from Home School Legal Defense Association. The guidelines could easily be adapted as a list for members of a homeschool group. There is also a helpful checklist for field trip planners.
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Featured Resources
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