Tricks of the Trade- Field Trips

Happy Thursday!  I am so happy it is Thursday and I am in New York tonight.  I get to spend some quality time with my bible study girls, fellowshiping and learning about the Lord.  I do have to go to school tomorrow, but I am ok with that because we have a three day week-end!  I do not have much planned for the week-end, but I have a to-do list I am hoping to accomplish!  Tonight I am linking up with my two favorite girls, Jessica, from Joy in the Journey and Becky, from Compassionate Teacher for their Tricks of the Trade.  This week our topic is Field Trips!

I loved field trips when I was in school, but I find them more stressful as a teacher and they take more out of me then a regular day of teaching.  I do love giving my students different experiences that they cannot get in the classroom. One thing I always like to have is enough chaperones and I usually have an extra one.  I like to not have a group, so I can float around visit all the groups and take care of any problems that arise.  I also like to make sure everyone is wearing the same colored shirt.  It makes it easier to spot your group amongst a large group of people.  

When I was teaching third grade, I used Field Trip Factory for a few of my field trips.  They have free field trips to various businesses where the students will learn a variety of different topics.  One year, we went to Stop and Shop, our local grocery store to learn about nutrition in the supermarket.  The kids loved it and they thought everything was so cool.  It was like they never visited the grocery store before! This website also gives you lesson plans to do before and after your field trip.  I found them very easy to use and very helpful.

One last tip I want to share is for the trips you take that have a gift shop.  We recently took our students to the Newark Museum.  They were so organized and every group had a time when they went to the gift shop.  As the students made their purchases, they placed the items in a bag and put the child's name on it.  They then put their purchases in a big bag and kept them until the end.  We were then able to pass them out either on the bus or back in the classroom.  This worked fantastic!  We waited until we were back at school to hand them out and we did not have any items broken or lost before they went home.  We plan on doing a similar thing when we take our next field trip.  It saved us from problems that could have occured.

Well that is all!  I am off to bible study!  Don't forget to link up with Jessica and Becky, they are both also having fantastic giveaways right now!

Have a fantastic night!

Rosie