Homeschooling: Field Trips

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Linda Wooldridge, and I'm a homeschool mom. So, how do you use field trips in your homeschool? First of all, look around you. You may have wonderful opportunities right there in your own hometown. After that, look an hour or two out; in fact, anything that could be considered a day trip. That is to say, you can get there, see it, and make it home before dinnertime. Those are the ones you'll want to tackle first. When you look at them; for example, we have a lighthouse that's within a day trip of our place, they actually have a homeschooling day, and they'll have someone who is playing the part of the lighthouse keeper that the homeschooler's can interview. They have special tee shirts for that day, and many special programs. So obviously, if I'm going to take my homeschooler on a field trip, and I can swing it that's the day I want to go, because they have all those special programs. After you've exhausted the field trip opportunities in your hometown take a look at places that you can visit. Maybe you live close enough to Washington, D.C., or Philadelphia, or you might even have relatives in the area. Don't miss out on those opportunities. You want to spend time with your family, but you also want to get to see the cool things that are located where you grew up. I remember I took my children on a field trip to a museum in my husband's hometown, and there, they had a switchboard that my father had worked on when he worked for the phone company when I was a little girl. My kids couldn't believe that people had to use switchboards to connect phone calls, but then again, that's my problem; I'm old, I can't help that. After you've looked at those kinds of things start planning your trips, your family vacations around destination points that you've always wanted your children to see. You'll be getting some education in, you'll be having a great time as a family, and you'll have one more thing that you can write in your lesson plan that you did. All of these opportunities; museums, parks, and national parks particularly are great opportunities that you'll want to list in your homeschool portfolio. And take lots of pictures, and include those in your portfolio too. It'll be a great memory, and even though we never think we're going to forget it's really easy to do. I'm Linda Wooldridge. Have a great homeschooling day, and go on a field trip."