Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Fun field trips to plan for!

Fun field trips to plan for your home-schoolers or to do with your kids on the weekend.


Our field trips for  the fall  will be:
All day trips:
Apple picking
Pumpkin picking
Christmas tree chopping

Locally:

The nature preserve
The nursery
Fall festivals
Children's museum




To get the most out of your field trips, get your children excited about where they are going to be going, and give them knowledge to fully appreciate what they are going to be doing.

The lesson plan for apple and pumpkin picking, and Christmas tree chopping:
 If you can't go apple or pumpkin picking due to location or budget, you can always head to your local grocery store and get a good price on these items while they are in season, and still do the following activities. And whether you get a real tree or do a fake tree, there is plenty of fun activities to do before and after you put it up.
Closer to the end of September, apple season begins. No matter your child's age this can be a fun topic with fun activities. Come October, pumpkin picking is in full swing. Some places offer more then just pumpkin picking, some have hay rides, petting zoos, and other fall activities. Christmas tree chopping usually starts around Thanksgiving, we have made it a tradition to go the day after.
A few days before the trip we will start reading about our up coming trip.
For our apple picking, I have planned to read about Johnny Appleseed. I find Johnny Appleseed's story to be so interesting and entertaining for children. Although you may find your child then wanting to plant all of their apple seeds around your yard ha ha.
For our pumpkin pickings, I want to read "From Seed to Pumpkin" by Wendy Pfeffer. This will give us a little idea of where pumpkins come from and how they grow. And then we will read other silly books about pumpkins.
For our Christmas tree trip, we plan to read "Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect" By Richard Schneider (I just love that story). This story can open up conversation, on what does perfect  actually mean.
All this reading can be done before bed as a bed time story (it doesn't need to feel like added school work), or during free time.
Below I pasted a link you can read facts about Johnny Appleseed, if you can't find any books at your library, it also includes a little cartoon. Also a link to learn facts about pumpkins, and a link for facts about Christmas trees.







Apple Activities:

1. Make apple journals. Print out pictures of different types of apples, label them, and bring this with you when you go on your trip. See if you can identify all the different apples you see.

2. Check out these activity sheets in the link below. Make poems, test your child's knowledge of Johnny Appleseed, and practice some mapping skills.
Coloring pages

3. Once you get back from your trip here are some ideas.

Bake apple pies, apple turnovers, apple crisps, make candy or caramel apples. (don't have a recipe, pinterest does!)

Educational apple themed games

Art apple stampers.


Pumpkin Activities:

1. Pumpkin Baking
pumpkin pie, pumpkin waffles, and  pumpkin bread. (don't have a recipe, pinterest does!)


2. Art
pumpkin carving , painting, or decorating.





Christmas Tree Activities:

Decorate your tree of course!

Make your own ornaments

Make your own wreath (either collect extra branches while your out there, or use the ones yu prune off your tree)


 Local trips and ideas:

Fall Festivals
Most towns do fall festivals (go online and find out what is happening near you), this is a fun day out, they often have pony rides, and pumpkin painting, and lots of fall inspired treats and crafts.

The Nature Preserve 
This is a beautiful time of year, with the scenery and weather, to take your kids out for a nature hike. Have them photograph or collect and scrap book the leaves and plants they see.

The Nursery
Our local nursery has animals, which are fun to pet and feed. They also set up a fall display which is fun.

Children's museum
On days when it is raining or too cold, and you need to get out check out your local museums. Our library has a program where you can get free passes.


I hope this has given you some ideas to make the most out of your fall!

1 comment:

  1. when I have children, can you just raise them for me? I love your field trip plans!

    ReplyDelete