Spring Field Trips for Homeschoolers

There’s one thing that comes along during the school year and grinds homeschooling to a halt–spring. There’s just something about the warm weather, new growth, and the sunshine that makes it quite difficult to homeschool the way you did during the winter. After years of homeschooling, I’ve learned to embrace the spring fever with spring lesson plans that play into our homeschool plan and with a few well-planned spring field trips. And that’s what we’re going to tackle today…spring field trips. Because nothing says “spring homeschooling” like taking advantage of the flexibility and freedom to get on the road (even if it’s just for a day) and enjoy an educational spring field trip!

Making Spring Field Trips for Homeschoolers Work

I’m a huge believer in hitting the road and experiencing learning. Poor planning, however, can ruin even the best spring road trip. The first, and best, way to get the most mileage from spring field trips is to plan well. How can you plan well for a spring field trip? Here are some great ideas on how to plan your vacations with homeschooling in mind–Vacations While Homeschooling. Take full advantage of our suggestions for packing busy bags, journaling, etc., even if you’re just taking a day trip! Planning with a purpose ensures that your spring field trips are successful and helps you stay on track to meet your homeschooling goals.

7 Great Spring Field Trips for Homeschoolers

1. Complete a unit study with a spring theme, then find a local (or not so local!) nature center or farm that fits into your unit study and explore what you’ve learned, live! Think ducks, flowers, gardening, grass, and migration. Check out books from your library for every age and grade and create posters or lap books with your findings. Be sure to include drawings, poems, science experiments, and other findings in your spring unit, and take your lapbooks and cameras with you on your field trip!
2. Read a good survival guide or camping field guide (My Side of the Mountain is one of our favorite survival stories) as a family, then take a camping trip. Practice survival skills using a camping survival kit that you make from your studies. Be sure to go hiking and spend time nature journaling. Finish your trip by writing your woodland survival short stories and reading them to one another on your drive home.
3. Explore ecology by studying your local water systems and the animals within them. Then take a kayaking or rafting trip. Create a habitat diorama where each student chooses one animal you’ve studied and creates their natural habitat and ecosystem within the box. Integrate writing by decorating the outside of the box with sentences or paragraphs describing the animal’s life cycle, natural habitat, predators, and feeding habits.
4. Study the mathematics and engineering that makes roller coasters work. Practice designing one yourself using a K’nex kit or even a theme park/roller coaster simulation video game. Then take a day trip to a nearby theme park to experience roller coasters in all their topsy-turvy glory!
5. Spring shopping for the summer can also be lots of fun…and educational. Give your learners a budget, challenge them to sort what they have, make a list of what’s needed, and then take a drive to the nearest outlet mall. Study the sales to compute the percentages off of the regular price to find the best deals. Reward your savvy shoppers with a trip to a nearby pretzel factory, creamery, or local burger joint to enjoy your savings!
6. Get out for some green time at your nearest state park or national park. Take a hike after you make a homemade nature journal. Most National Parks have a Junior Ranger Program. Have your student complete the necessary steps for them to earn a Junior Ranger badge!
7. Send your middle or high schooler to a local farm to volunteer and shadow a farmer. Generate a list of questions about the local economy, agricultural systems, climate, and weather impact to take along. Then, armed with the answers, have your student write an essay or complete a project about what he/she learned. Take it even further by challenging your student to start a farm stand using vegetables and fruit grown on a farm you plant together!

Spring homeschooling doesn’t have to be a battle between spring fever and spelling lists! Get out of the house with a few well-planned and timed spring field trips to enjoy the spring weather without sabotaging your homeschooling plans. Trust me; the time away will pay off in more focused and focused learners!