Field Trips, part 2

Field Trips, part 2
Last time we discussed a couple of types of field trips that you might consider including in your fifth grade homeschool curriculum. Other grade levels can benefit from those, as well, so if you are home educating more than one age child these field trips can work for them with some adaptation. The next type of field trip might be considered the physical field trip. This type of field trip is mainly about the physical activity involved. Bowling, roller skating, ice skating, and rock wall climbing are examples of this kind of field trip. Of course, if you need these field trips to be tied in with school work, then feel free to talk about kinetic energy versus potential energy, talk about friction, talk about the laws of thermodynamics, talk about the freezing temperature of water. But don’t feel obligated to make every moment educational. Sometimes physical field trips are about the sheer joy of getting out and doing something. If your child learns something along the way, you are ahead of the game.

Be on the look out for field trips of opportunity. These come in many forms and are often based on someone’s hobby or business. Look for the local pilot’s club where you could find a pilot or two who might be willing to talk about airplanes, aerodynamics, and perhaps take children up for a short flight. Maybe someone you know is into archery, see if you can tap into their passion for archery to teach a small group of children how to shoot an arrow. Suppose there is a dairy and milk processing facility near by, see if you can get a field trip to see how milk gets from the cow to the cheese stick.

These are just a few of the field trip opportunities that are available to your child. Fifth graders are at a great age. They are curious, generally under their own power to move about, they are able to listen, and obey rules. As their educational fields broaden, they know more about more things, and are willing to explore new opportunities. Use their increasing independence to your advantage when it comes to finding field trips in which to engage your student.