OT- Homeschooling Field Trips: What trips were best?

OceanAnnie

I guess I have a thing against
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May 5, 2004
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We've been to the Post Office, grocery store, & fire station. Looking forward to going to a candy factory (that got the kids attention!), airport, and pet store. Others to follow this year.

I've enjoyed the trips as much as the kids have! It's nice to see things from "behind the scenes". :magnify:

What trips have you guys been on? What trips do you have planned? I'd love some tips/trips to add to our calendar! :)
 
Do a search for the "Spirit of America" show...thru the Army...I'm not sure where you live but if you can get to one it is AWESOME!..It's free and about a 2 1/2 hour show...It is part musical, part re-enactment of important battles (with real soldiers, guns, horses,etc) and part "recruitment" ..It is the elite entertainment units of the Army. Very worthwhile if you can get to one...We live in Toledo Ohio and made the 2 hour trip to Cleveland specifically for this show and it was so worth it..I'm not sure of the exact website , but if you do a search for "spirit of america" you want the one with an address of something like spirit of america.mdw.army.mil 2006 dates will be out soon.. There are even teachers guide links on the site...btw, we are not a "military" family but it was still powerful and at times very emotional.especially when they did tributes to 9/11 and also to current and retired soldiers-and though its put on by the army , they do a little recognition celebration for each military branch.


On a lighter note, go into fieldtrips.com there is a list of stores that will do free field trips...around here is Petco, Giant Eagle but there are others as well..Nice for groups and also free. The kids get goody bags and samples. Very fun...
 
A Krispy Kreme Distribution center was a hit with my girls!

We are going to a homeschool day at Ponce Inlet and the Maritime Center in February (2nd week I believe). They are setting up a special day for homeschoolers to go over all sorts of things.

We've also been to Lieu gardens in Orlando. You cannot pick plants--but they give you a bag to pick up "treasures"--flowers and plant life that have already fallen to the ground.

We also do the student plays at the King Center--a local performing arts center that does attract some surprisingly big names.

We go to most that fit within our budget--though we fudge the age range a bit. The Chinese Acrobats--we have seen peforming troupes 3 years in a row. I"m convinced it is what the little Kid performers at the China Pavillion in EPCOT aspire to be. It is different troops each year--but by far the most astounding field trip we have EVER been on. They hold an evening show for the general public and a day show at a discounted school/student rate that you MUST be in a group to attend. WE get tickets for that and other shows through our homeschooling group. If a show of this nature comes in to a venue near you--YOU MUST GO SEE IT. Even if you have to pay the full evening price. It is soooo worth it!!!! I know one year it was the peking acrobats (hey--that could have been them this year, but I don't remember).

We also went to Olive Garden (got to see the kitchen and stuff and then you order lunch--pay per menu item).

WE also went to a restaurant called Pizza Gallery--included a tour, then the kids made their own pizza (for a small fee).

We've done an ice cream parlor as well--though that wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be as those places aren't all that big.

Publix was pretty cool--they got lots of free stuff and toured all the departments. And got cookies at the end. :)


My hubby has some homeschooling cousins whose mom took them to a meat packing plant or something. They live up in Michigan--so the choices are far and wide I guess. IF something is exceptionally far, they listen to books on tape along the way.

I would love to find out how to plan a field trip to the airport. We do have one that is a small one--but enough for field trip purposes. I'm almost afraid to aks though b/c of the security issues.
 

Lisa loves Pooh said:
I would love to find out how to plan a field trip to the airport. We do have one that is a small one--but enough for field trip purposes. I'm almost afraid to aks though b/c of the security issues.

Well, our trip to the airport is penciled in. In a former life, I taught preschool and took my class to the airport, pre 9-11. You raise a valid concern about the security issues. Honestly, I didn't think for a minute they couldn't do it, but you may be right!

I hope they still do. Back then they had a person that handled school tours and it was pretty easy to arrange. I took it for granted they still do the tours.

The airport personnel did a wonderful job. We toured the facility from tickets to boarding a plane (and everything in between). They saw the cockpit and talked to a pilot. They sat in passenger seats and heard the spiel about buckling up. One of my the little students asked when we were taking off! It was so cute! My assistant and I had to contain ourselves it was so funny. They did a stellar job. I hope we can do it again and have a repeat performance! :)

P.S.- LLP, Thanks for the field trip ideas. I'll be looking into those! :)
 
Some of our favorites have been....

Cotton field and gin
Local TV station (the weather guy)
Eye glass and contacts manufacturing
Christmas Tree farm
Butterfly farm

I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now.

This past week we had a great field trip to a book printing company.

When my kids were younger we enjoyed the firestation, police station, Krispy Kreme, Children's Museum, Nature and Science Center.
 












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