How to Chaperon a Sixth Grade Class Trip

Schools cannot conduct field trips without the help of parent volunteers. A certain number of parent chaperons are needed, depending on the size of the classroom. Sixth graders are pretty self-reliant, but they do like to goof off and can end up getting hurt if not properly supervised. If you are planning to chaperon a sixth grade class, there are a few things you should know.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Information on the field trip
• Permission slips
• Itinerary
• Directions

1. Find out where you are going. The best thing to do is get prepared and you can't do that if you don't know where you are going. Once you have that information, do some searching on the Internet. Where is the place located? What are the learning objectives? What does the place have to offer? You should also find out if you are going to be required to drive (most schools go on a bus) so that you can use a site like Expedia to get directions.
2. Find out how many kids you will be chaperoning and get their information. Call each parent to find out if any of the children have allergies or special needs. Will the children need sunscreen or bug spray where you are going? Make sure you have enough for your children. The average group you should be responsible for should be 4 to 5 children.
3. On the day of the trip make sure all the students you are chaperoning have filled out permission slips and that they have been signed by a parent or guardian. You don't want to be held liable for any child whose parent didn't say they could go on the trip.
4. Get instructions from the teacher on the day of the trip. The teacher may have a schedule for the day that he or she would like you to follow along with a fact sheet for what they want the students to learn that day. Make sure you and the teacher are on the same page.
5. Have a talk with your group before you begin. Let them know you want them to have fun, but they most obey certain rules. Give them your rules and make sure they know that they cannot wander off or check out any exhibit without you. Don't expect your sixth graders to know any of your rules if you don't take a few minutes to explain them.
6. Keep your eyes on the children all day. Don't take your eyes off of them for a second. To do this you must make sure that the group you have never splits up. Don't let two kids go off and look at exhibit A while the other two are looking at exhibit B. You can't watch both groups at the same time and one group could end up pulling a prank that gets themselves hurt. You main objective as a chaperon is to make sure all the students you are responsible for are safe and make it back to their parents.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you are capable of doing whatever is required on the field trip. If your class is climbing a mountain and you get out of breath easily, than you don't want to volunteer because you will just slow the kids down and they won't get the full experience of the climb.
• Don't deviate from the teacher's schedule. You are there to serve the teacher and help the teacher meet her objectives. This trip is not about you and how you can take over.