Homeschool Field Trip Ideas

by Carah Clark August 28, 2023

Hey y'all! I have been a homeschool Mamacita for almost 2 decades now. I have one more yet to graduate. Field trips need to be fun! Let's face it, when you homeschool and your field trips are together it can become redundant if you don't put some effort into planning. Going to the regular spots can be fun, but the excitement and prep school work in advance of the field trip can get boring. Here are some things we have done through the years. Some ideas are redundant, I know. But maybe there is an idea for the prep school work or a different way of doing the same old field trip that will appeal to you and your monkeys a little more. Some of the ideas will seem like recreation, but why can't learning be fun? Field trips in public school are something kids look forward to, our kids should be excited too! The beauty of homeschooling is that no matter what we are doing, we can keep learning!

Fire House

Yep, go!!!! Firehouses are open to the public. Be prepared that when you show up they may not be there, or the alarm may go off and they have to leave quickly. They are on shift and need to rescue people. Make them some cookies or a few healthy snacks. At my husband's fire house they trained daily and were pretty health conscious.

Ahead of time do school work based on these ideas:

Types of Equipment Used
Titles and responsibilities under each title
How firefighters help the community
Fire Safety
Your personal family safety plan if you were to have a house fire

Ask Them:

How to properly use a fire extinguisher
Tips on fire safety

Fishing

This is a good skill for all our kids to have. I understand vegans and others may say this is a no-go, but if you eat fish, why not teach your kids to catch, clean, and cook them? There is soooooo many learning angles here for your little angler. Even if you don't eat fish (like me *wink*) there are so many lessons to be learned with catch and release.

Look into your local lakes, rivers, and ponds. Here in our area there is a parking fee at our state parks, so I buy the annual pass and we fish at the lake and when we travel. We have fished in fresh and salt water, and we do many different types of fishing.

Fly Fishing
Bass Fishing
Salt Water Surf Fishing
Deep Sea Fishing
Catfishing
Cast Netting
Dip Netting

I could keep going on, but it all depends on where you live. Don't know where to start? Ask a friend.

Shopping

Yep, seems weird, right? Not when your kiddo is getting a lesson on finances. It can be a fun way to get them to enjoy learning about money. Here are a couple ideas that we have done through the years:
Make it a day of food. We LOVE to eat! Have them plan their favorite meal, use the recipe and make sure they have a list of ingredients that need purchased at the grocery store. That takes organization and some math skills. Then, have them cost compare online at the stores you frequent the most. Is it cheaper to get the items at your local grocery store, or maybe in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club? They learn many good skills, and a home-ec court will be a part of it as they come home and prepare the meal too.
Give them a budget for something (clothing, a gift for someone, etc) and have them make a list of places they want to go. They will get not only a day of fun out with their parent, but learn some good skills along the way. Take them to lunch or have a picnic out.

Each Kids Pick a Day

Every month I have the kids take turns and its their day to chose what they want to do. Here is an example of what we did four months in a row:

Art day. My son and I went to the store and he picked out an art project for each kid. We had snacks, turned on a movie, and crafted and made art all day. We made some good memories and had some laughs.
Hiking at the lake with lunch afterwards. Then we came home and cooked together and baked as much as our hearts desired.
We spent the day together just doing random things, then went to dinner and a movie.
Fishing at the lake followed by a fish fry.

The Zoo

We have ALL done the zoo field trip. I know, I know. But, have you spent time learning about animals beforehand? How animals are created and how much joy they bring us can be so much fun. There is so much science and a lot we can learn from animals.

Ask each kid what their favorite animal is, then have them do research on that animal. Have them write a paper explaining facts about their animal, give them spelling words based on that animal's features and characteristics, have them do art work and draw/paint that animal into a scene....the list goes on. Get creative!

Local Museums

Did you know that quite a few museums and free to homeschoolers, or sometimes they have a free homeschool day. Why not take advantage of that? You can also get on Groupon and find great deals on tickets for art & history museums, sometimes even your local science museum.

Get Active!

You can also find Groupons for golfing and other sports. What not take your PE to the next level and make it into a field trip to try something new? Or go rent a bike from your local bike shop and go hit the trails. You may all find something new that you love!

I could keep going on about field trips, but here is just a few ideas to get the ball rolling. What have y'all done? Let me know in the comments below.