Homeschool field trip ideas

As much as you might want to travel to the most expensive tourist attraction in your state—or any state—for a field trip, the truth is that some of the best field trips are either already included in your daily schedule or free and close to home.

Wood Sprite has been on dozens—probably hundreds, depending on your definition—of field trips. She loves to play at the Magic House, to visit the chocolate and root beer factories, and check out the farms in our area. But she’s also learned so much from simply grocery shopping, visiting the tool store and checking out the local vet’s office. I did actually schedule group field trips to most of these places, too, so we could get tours and an insider’s view, but to tell you the truth she absorbs everything like a sponge during each visit—organized or not.

The trick, of course, is to not rush your kids—which can be difficult when you have multiples and you’re shopping quickly (or attempting to shop quickly) to get dinner on the table. When you do have a spare hour to spend with your family and you want to have a learning experience for free, though, try exploring one of the following places…

Farms and Farmer’s Markets

Grocery Stores

Tool Stores

Community Gardens

Parks and Trails

Service Stores—Anything from FedEx to car services

Post Office

City Hall

DMV

Bakery

Fitness or Rec Centers, Dance Studios, etc.

Shopping Malls (go early during the mid-week!)

Sporting Events

Airports

Be sure to encourage questions, to really talk about everything you see and do and help your kids learn more about their community.

What are your favorite field trip spots?

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia