Now that you have yourself and your home on a good routine, it’s easy to add in some additional tools to making learning more meaningful in your homeschool and to make concepts, people, and dates stick.
Homeschool Field Trip Fun
One of our favorite ways to mix things up a bit is to “go and do” with field trips. Field trips can be planned well in advance to dove-tail perfectly with a particular lesson. However, don’t underestimate the power of a spontaneous field trip. Sometimes just having a day out with friends exploring something new can be a breath of fresh air.
Also, not every field trip needs to be perfectly planned to be educational. Often a spontaneous field trip can spark an interest in your child that can lead to great learning.
Case in point, a couple of weeks ago we decided at the last minute to go to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It’s the aquarium that houses Winter the dolphin as well as where the movie a Dolphin Tale and a Dolphin Tale 2 {opening September 12th} were filmed. Visiting the aquarium was on our to do list, we were always getting asked about it by people who were visiting the area, so finally we just decided to go! We came home from a great visit, re-watched Dolphin Tale and my younger kids have been thoroughly interested in Dolphins ever since. It was a fantastic segue into some relaxed summer learning with a unit study called Dolphin Days. I have a daughter devouring Dolphin books and randomly telling us Dolphin facts!
Perhaps I enjoy field trips so much because there is minimal prep work on my part. Other than choosing a spot and a date there isn’t much else to do except go and have fun. Well, except pack lunches, although my kids are almost all old enough to do that themselves!
Below are several helpful links for more field trip ideas and inspiration:
Ultimate Guide to Field Trips for Homeschoolers
Tips for Taking Field Trips in a Large Family
Homeschool Field Trips – Pinterest Board with tons of ideas
Field Trips – Physical & Virtual
Did you make time in your schedule this year for field trips?
Having just visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium yesterday, I loved this post. 😉
We LOVE learning through field trips — I think the kids gain so much and it’s probably one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling – learning through REAL LIFE.
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I’m so glad you had a great time at the Aquarium!!