How to Organize Children for a Field Trip

A field trip is a fun day for kids and parents alike. But creating groups of children for chaperons to manage isn't as simple as you might think, with food allergies on the rise and predators who may be drawn to activities that children will enjoy. Some thought needs to go into organizing the children in advance, to be certain that safety is thoroughly addressed prior to setting out.

Things You'll Need

• Pre-printed stickers
• Backpack

Instructions

1. Make sure children know in advance if any particular clothing is required. If you're sailing on a tugboat, make sure that the kids have windbreakers or heavy jackets. If going on a hike, the kids will need long pants, good shoes and sunscreen. Also make sure that the children know if they are allowed to bring pocket money. Some school districts don't allow children to bring their own funds on trips to minimize disparity; other schools suggest a standard amount--$5 or so--that children may bring.

2. Create groups of a reasonable size. About four to five children per chaperon is ideal, but if you're low on chaperons, make sure you don't have more than seven children in a group. Any more is simply too many for one parent to track and crowd control. If the kids start misbehaving, this can be difficult with a larger group.

3. Identify the group clearly. Give each child a sticker that lists the name of the school and the school's phone number. This way, if the child gets separated from the group, he can be identified easily and returned to the chaperon or teacher.

4. Don't use name tags. Children are very trusting and providing a predator with a child's name makes the child vulnerable to being called over by an adult who is not part of the field trip group. If the field trip is on-campus, name tags are fine as professionals brought in to teach the kids need their names. But off-campus trips should not use name tags to minimize any potential for harm to the kids.

5. Group children with food allergies together. It's safer on a field trip to keep one group with food allergies rather than dispersing the children throughout the chaperons. The chaperon is often the parent of a child with food allergies, so she is well trained to manage any potential emergency. And, it's easier to keep the children away from any potential allergens if there is one group that needs to be carefully monitored.

6. Provide a backpack or sack for the kids to put their lunches in. Most field trips are full-day trips, so kids need to bring a lunch. But they can't be expected to carry it all day, so be sure that you have something on hand so that the kids can enjoy the trip and not worry about smashing their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.