Day Trips Add Educational Value to Homeschool

Having students attend educational events can be an exceptional way to add hands-on educational value to the homeschool experience.

There are an unlimited number of activities and events out there. Some are obviously educational, like the museum or the zoo. Others, may take a little bit of thinking outside the box to recognize. Either way, they can add a weath of educational value.

Many of these activities can be completed in a single day, and they don't always take extensive travel.

Homeschooling parents should plan out an educational day trip in advance when possible. Make a lesson out of it by giving the student assignments to complete on site, and/or after the trip.

For example, a parent could create a hand-out that will have places for the student to fill in observations or thoughts as he/she goes through the day at the event. Or the student could be required to write a report after the trip. If you really want to get creative, the assignment could be a scrapbook that includes photos of the trip. Or it could be short essay posted to Facebook for friends and relatives to see.

Discussion is very important. Homeschooling parents should set aside a time to discuss the event and allow students to express their thoughts and ask questions. Ideally, discussions should happen before, during, and after the trip in order to give the student the best possible chance to think and talk through what he/she is learning.

Finally, homeschooling parents need to record any day trips or field trips that a student has taken as part of their education. We recorded ours right on our student work assessment for the quarter, but it can be wherever you keep your student records so that it can be easily accessed for review. Include a sentence or two as to what school subject(s) the trip best enhanced. For example: a trip to a Scottish Festival could be taken as part of the history class.

If documented, as a general rule, you can count these educational trips as a day of school, which counts toward the 180. The exception would be if your umbrella or overseeing school does not allow it.

To the right, we will be adding some suggestions for Day Trips. Please check back often for more, and if you have any ideas you would like to add, please send them to us at staff@localhomeschool.org.