Can we talk about Field Trips?

Hands-on learning is the very best kind of learning, and field trips can be a very good idea to support hands-on learning.

As I consider beginning a discussion of field trips, issues that come to mind are:

• financial considerations;
• location;
• age and mobility/obedience of the kids

Financial considerations
Field trips can cost money, so if there is no money to spend you need to understand that field trips do not need to cost money! Or they might cost as little as the gas to drive your car. Ways to make a field trip free include:

• packing a lunch;
• everyone taking a water bottle;
• taking a gallon of extra water (or more) if appropriate and necessary.

Or none of the above if it is a short field trip! Examples of free field trips I have taken my children on include:

• visiting a local nature center;
• visiting a local farm to see baby goats;
• visiting another neighbor to see their chickens;
• taking a nature walk at a local park;
• visiting the local air port to watch planes land and take off;
• visiting the fire station when they hold an open house;
• visiting free museums and free zoo in the Washington, DC area (where I live);
• visiting local courtroom and sitting through a trial;
• visiting city council meeting;
• visiting train station and watching for trains.

 Moderate expense field trips would include things like:

• take the kids ice skating;
  
• go to a movie matinee;
• go bowling;
• take a ride on the local subway (just to ride the train!);
• take trips to historical sites that have small fee

 More expensive trips might be:

• Go to a glass blowing factory tour; make a glass ornament;
  
• visit museums that charge a fee, like a Children's Museum, Building Museum, Aquarium or Zoo;
• Go to a ceramics shop where you can make a ceramic item;
• Go on a "date" to a local coffee shop or restaurant

We've gone on many field trips through the years. Sometimes the parent (me) can get exasperated when the focus of the field trip (light house and marine museum) are not what the child is interested in (wading in local flooding).

In the early years, I was always looking for learning opportunities. Visiting Nana and Pop Pop in Florida, we visited Ft. Christmas. I was intrigued. My girls were bored to tears.

 We visited a Cabbage Patch Doll Factory.

 Two of my kids went to Space Camp

But some of our best field trips, I did not attend. My girls participated in a co-op, and the group visited Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (which I did attend)

New York City

and even Europe. Talk about expensive! The kidlet had to work to pay for that one!

But some of the best field trips were just plain free. When your kid just needs a break, sometimes it is just more productive to get out of the house and experience nature.

So look at your year. Maybe plan one Friday a month to set aside as a field trip day. Adjust this idea as you need to for your budget and for what is available in your area, but consider a schedule like this:

• September: zoo
• October: orchard/farm to pick apples and/or pumpkins
• November: Visit an area of early American interest (thinking of Thanksgiving). I might go to my local Sandy Spring Museum, Sandy Spring, MD
• December: attend a showing of The Nutcracker, or visit a living nativity or some special activity that has been scheduled for Christmas;
• January: Go ice skating;
• February: go to the local natural history museum or building museum;
• March: go on a nature walk and look for signs of spring;
• April: visit a location where you can observe cherry blossoms
• May: Go to nature center and take a hike. Observe three new bird species and learn about them.
• June: Go to a local park with a lake. Consider renting a canoe or paying for a ride on a pontoon boat.
• July: pick strawberries (June?) or blueberries at local farm. 
• August: go to county fair

Other members of the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew are also participating in the 5-Days of Homeschool Encouragement blog hop. To read more posts, please click on the link below.

Tips for Homeschoolers, Day 5: Trials, Challenges and Finishing Well!

Trials, challenges, and finishing well. This topic mashes together in my thoughts, so this will not come across as three paragraphs, one on each subtopic!
I will, however, start with finishing well. This sounds like the topic I need to end with, but in actuality finishing well is a process that needs to begin as your oldest is entering 7th grade. Does that surprises you? Let me explain.
Finishing, obviously, means graduating your child from high school. To do graduate your child, you need to look up "high school graduation requirements in" your state. Once you know that, you need to set up a basic plan to get this done.
In my state these are the requirements:

English	4 credits
Mathematics	1 Algebra
	1 Geometry
	2 Other Math (math each year of high school)
Science	1 Biology (2 with labs)
	2 sciences in earth, life, environmental or physical
Social Studies	1 US History
	1 World History
	1 Local, state and national government
Fine Arts	1 credit
Physical Education	½ credit
Health	½ credit
Technology	1 credit
Other	2 credits foreign language or ASL OR
	2 credits advanced technology AND
	3 credits in electives
	OR
	4 credits by successfully completing a State -approved career & technology program AND
	1 credit in an elective

Students must have a minimum of 21 credits to graduate, but if you add that up, the recent change in Math (every year of high school) upped the credits to 22! If you divide, that is more than five classes some years. How does one do it? And why do I need to know this for 7th grade?
Well, there is a factor that is not obvious that you need to know. If your 7th grader is working at high school level and takes high school courses in 7th grade, they count towards high school. So first you need to make a plan (which can be mushy-gushy and change), and as you implement the plan you need to make a transcript. Here is a sample plan:

	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
English			English	English	English	English
Mathematics	Algebra 1	Geometry	Algebra 2	Pre-Calculus	Calculus	Consumer Math
Science		Biology/Lab	Marine Biology	Chemistry/Lab	Earth Science
Social Studies			Ancient History	World History	US History & Govt. 1	US History & Govt. 2
Technology						Foundations of Technology
Fine Arts					½ Art	½ Music Appreciation
Physical Education	½ credit
Health		½ credit
Spanish	Spanish 1	Spanish 2	Spanish 3	Spanish 4

Does that put things into a different perspective? So if your 7th grader can handle high school level courses, you can spread things out. Count those credits. The way I set it up there are 25 credits, which can mean you do not need to do all this. Ancient History is an elective, as is Earth Science, and Spanish 2 & 3. Theoretically so are some of the math courses, except for that weird new rule in my state that I am not sure how to apply.
The transcript for the above plan might look like this:

Family Home School

1234 Family Lane

City, ST 12345

High School Credit Report

Student Name:    Student’s Full Legal Name          Date of Birth: XX/XX/XXXX Social Security #:    XXX-XX-XXXX                           Phone Number: 123-456-7890 Address: Student’s Full Address, same as school

We hereby affirm the completion of the following courses by our child. Date: ______________________ Father: _________________________   Mother: _____________________________

Subjects and Required Credits

Ninth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Tenth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Eleventh Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Twelfth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Description                 Grade Credit

Description           Grade Credit

Description                 Grade Credit

Description           Grade Credit

Bible / Christian Service

4

Ancient Biblical History

A

1

History of the New Testament

A

1

World Religions

A

1

Biblical Literature and Poetry

A

1

English

4

Ancient World Literature and Composition

A

1

Medieval World Literature and Composition

A

1

Classic Literature of the Western World: 1800s; Composition

A

1

Classic Literature of the 1900s and Composition

A

1

Math

3

Algebra I*

B

1

Geometry*

B

1

Algebra 2

A

1

Pre-Calculus

B

1

Calculus

B

1

Consumer Math

B

1

Science

3

Biology with Lab*

B

1

Chemistry with Lab

B

1

Earth Science

A

1

Foundations of Technology

A

1

Marine Biology

B

1

Social Studies

3

Ancient History

A

1

World History

A

1

U.S. Hist. & Govt. 1

A

1

U.S. Hist. & Govt. 2

A

1

Physical Ed./ Health

1

PE*

A

0.5

Health *

A

0.5

Fine Arts

Art

A

1/2

Music Appreciation

A

1/2

Foreign Lang.

Spanish 1*

B

1

Spanish 2*

B

1

Spanish 3

B

1

Spanish 4

B

1

Elective

Extra Curricular

Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts

Total Credits by Grade

Ninth Grade

9.5

8.5

5.5

5.5

*Early Credits.  Taken in 7^th or 8^th Grade.

Certification: I hereby certify that this student took each of the courses listed above, and that all letter grades were computed by an objective third party or through some other objectively verifiable method. Each credit represents one or more of the following: (1) 150 hours of class time, not counting homework; (2) successful completion of at least ¾ of a

standard high school textbook, including all publisher-prepared problems,  quizzes, and tests; (3) private high school courses worth one traditional  credit; (4) community college courses worth at least two credit hours; or (5) private courses taught by a private school teacher.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My current student did not do any high school in 7th or 8th grade and has found it difficult to stay motivated to do high school courses to graduate! He wants to go to college, but found it difficult to respect assignment deadlines I set to complete course work. We opted for dual enrollment (discussed in a recent post), so his school plan looks like this:

Miner’s SAMPLE HIGH SCHOOL PLAN

	9th	10th	11th	12th
English	Medeival Lit./Comp.	19th Century Lit./Comp.
(college)		ENGL 101	ENGL 102	ENGL 201
Mathematics	Algebra 1	Algebra 2	Geometry
(college)				Pre-Calculus
Science	Biology w/Lab	Chemistry		Aeronautics
(college)			Astronomy w/Lab
Social Studies	World History	US History & Govt. 1
(college)			20th century history	Geography (summer)
Technology	Videography
(college)				Computer Science 110
Fine Arts		½ Art + ½ Music
Physical Education	½ credit
Health		½ credit
Spanish	Conv. Spanish (Rocket Spanish)		SPAN 101	SPAN 102

This plan contains 23 credits, which gives me some wiggle room if he can't handle this plan. His final transcript might look like this:

Family Home School

1234 Family Lane

City, ST 12345

High School Credit Report

Student Name:    Student’s Full Legal Name          Date of Birth: XX/XX/XXXX Social Security #:    XXX-XX-XXXX                           Phone Number: 123-456-7890 Address: Student’s Full Address, same as school

We hereby affirm the completion of the following courses by our child. Date: ______________________ Father: _________________________   Mother: _____________________________

Subjects and Required Credits

Ninth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Tenth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Eleventh Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Twelfth Grade Year: 20XX-20XX

Description                 Grade Credit

Description           Grade Credit

Description                 Grade Credit

Description           Grade Credit

Bible / Christian Service

4

Poetry of the Bible and Religious Studies

A

1

Ancient Biblical History

A

1

History of the New Testament

A

1

World Religions

A

1

English

4

Medieval World Litera-ture and Composition Ancient World Literature and Composition

A

1

Classic Literature of the Western World: 1800s; Composition

A

1

ENGL 102: Critical Reading, Writing and Research *

A

1

ENGL 201: Introduction to World Literature *

A

1

ENGL 101*

A

1

Math

3

Algebra 1

B

1

Algebra 2

B

1

Geometry

A

1

MATH 165: Pre-Calculus *

B

1

Science

3

Biology with Lab

B

1

Chemistry

B

1

ASTR 101: Introductory Astronomy with Lab *

A

1

Foundations of Technology

A

1

Social Studies

3

Medieval History

B

1

World History

A

1

HIST 104: History of the 20th Century *

A

1

POLY 101: American Govt.*

A

1

Physical Ed.

½

Physical Education

A

½

Health

½

Health

A

½

Fine Arts

1

Art

A

½

Music Appreciation

A

½

Foreign Lang.

2

Conv. Spanish (Rocket Spanish)

B

1

SPAN 101*

B

1

SPAN 102*

B

1

Technology

1

Videography

A

1

Extra Curricular

Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts

Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol

Church Youth Group

Church Youth Group

Church Youth Group

Church Youth Group

Total Credits by Grade

Ninth Grade

7½

7½

6.0

6.0

*Dual Enrollment Credits.  Courses taken at Campbell County Community College.

Certification: I hereby certify that this student took each of the courses listed above, and that all letter grades were computed by an objective third party or through some other objectively verifiable method. Each credit represents one or more of the following: (1) 150 hours of class time, not counting homework; (2) successful completion of at least ¾ of a

standard high school textbook, including all publisher-prepared problems,  quizzes, and tests; (3) private high school courses worth one traditional  credit; (4) community college courses worth at least two credit hours; or (5) private courses taught by a private school teacher.

 So you start with a plan and then you work the plan. Suddenly trials and challenges surface. What do you do?

No brief blog post can answer that. Every family is different; every student is different. Every challenge is different. Even the way we deal with a challenge is different last year than it might be next year.

First you pray. Second, you walk your way through the trial the best you can, one day at a time. Since 1992 I have walked through:

- My step-father's heart by-pass surgery.

- My father's death. Settling his estate.

- My step-father's dimensia, hospitalizations, nursing home stays, hospice and finally death.

- Getting my mother to get her affairs in order.

- While doing that, learning she was mortally ill. Barely finished with signatures - she died five weeks after we learned she had lung cancer.

- Starting to settle her affairs and having to open and settle my step-father's estate because she never dealt with it.

- Since then, my mother-in-law has also passed.

Through this time each of my children has had various times when we wondered how we would survive. Ups and downs. And, not surprisingly there were times we wondered if our marriage would survive. As a family, right now some things are better, some are the same, and some are still horrible. 

Trying to be faithful to what the Lord calls you to, you always try to stay close to him and put one foot in front of the other. "Do the next hard thing." And sometimes you can't. But it is like the poem "Footprints in the Sand" -- when we can't go another step, He carries us.

For me personally, planning is huge for getting through stuff. Sure, plans need to be flexible, but when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This is true for chores, laundry, meals, dentist visits, high school and college. If you plan a meal and buy the food, have the meal plan posted and the food waiting to be cooked, you're more likely to succeed in making dinner than if you get to five o'clock wondering what you should cook. If you get to summer knowing what school courses you are covering next year and what books you have and which you still need, you can plan a budget and shop for what you need. You're less likely to overspend or to get to the next year with no math book.

I feel like I'm rambling now. I hope this has been helpful. Watch for free printables coming soon in a future post. I'll wrap this up now. Feel free to comment if you have specific questions.

Refresh your beverage and visit more blogs for Tips for Homeschoolers:

• Melissa @ Grace Christian School
• Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
• Missica @ Through the Open Window
• Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
• Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
• Renita @ Krazy Kuehner Days
• Sarah @ Renaissance Mama
• Sasha @ Such a Time as This
• Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
• Tiffany @ The Crafty Home
• Tina @ Desperate Homeschoolers