Successful Homeschool Fieldtrips

Lee Anne Tanaka maintains a homeschool field trip email list in the Treasure Valley. She encourages members of the list to organize a field trip and invite others to join them. She also sends out other emails pertaining to homeschooling. Email her at lahtanaka@wwdb.org to be added to her email list if you are interested.

This is here article on suggestions for organizing a successful homeschool activity. She has graciously allowed me to share reprint it here.

Hi! So… you’re organizing a field trip or a class?

Here are some suggestions when setting up with the facility. Please put the appropriate details in a memo that I can send out to the rest of the group about 2 weeks before the tour date. If it’s a class, send out the information as needed for the instructor.
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Not all these ideas may be applicable to your situation. As you are setting this up, make it convenient for you. If you have 6th graders and the facility only does 3rd graders, it’s ok to bow out of organizing the event.

Here we go
- ages appropriate (we have newborn to 18 years old). If they only take 5th-6th graders, that’s ok. We have plenty of kids in most age ranges
- sign up deadline if needed
- duration (1 hour? ½ hour? )
- how many can participate at one time
- set up 2 tours (if needed): create waiting lists. Consolidate or remove 1 tour if not enough people sign up.
- when finding out the number of kids allowed, find out if the number is just for kids OR does it include adults. We have more adults attending than regular schools because we homeschool. For example, facility says they can accommodate 25. Is that number just kids or does it include adults? Some facilities really mean 25 bodies which would include kids and adults.
- what is the cost/donation (if any)
- if the facility has a cost, this process is in YOUR best interest:
· have them notify you of their intent to be placed on the list via email
· once they notify you, give an address to send you the money required
· give date when money is required to be to you to hold their place
· send an email confirmation of receipt of the person’s money
· there are NO refunds (this gets too messy!!)
· donate any leftover cash to the facility
· keep detailed records for your protection: someone says they paid, when you notified them of receipt, who shows up to the trip/class
- is there a discount for large groups or members of the ICHE (Idaho Coalition of Home Educators)
- are questions allowed
- are any special tools/clothing/materials needed
- are there accommodations for people with special needs (e.g. wheelchair access)
- how are kids with special needs handled? (e.g. autism, hearing, ADHD, etc)
- any other special considerations
- address/phone number and contact name for each group attending (e.g. 3 tours would need 3 contact names for the facility and the tour group attending) people want someone to contact in case they have questions or challenges
- date and time to be there (add 15 minutes to the time – remember we have babies and toddlers, e.g. the facility wants to start at 9:30 am. Tell everyone to be there at 9:15 am)
- directions to the facility, a complete address and phone number of the facility
- please contact the facility as soon as you sign up for your field trip. This is to ensure the facility actually does field trips, is available in the time frame we’d like to do the trip and sets up a contact person in case something comes up on either side.
Please let me know how your tour went. I like to have an idea of how these are going: which worked, how many showed up vs number expected, how was the facility, was it homeschool friendly, etc.
Thanks for being willing to organize a trip! It helps the whole homeschool community!

Lee Anne Tanaka

(please see below for more info)
P.S. Below is a template for those who keep asking for oneJ
When:
Where:
Time (from/to):
Ages:
Cost/Deadline to me:
Notify me via email of your intent and I’ll send an address to mail $
Address/Phone of facility:
Directions:
Contact at tour location:
Special Considerations:
Signup DEADLINE:
Field trip contact:
Name/email