Tuesday, March 7, 2000
Early Childhood/Elementary
Alternatives to Field Trips
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Chocolate - Hi
everyone!
MJ - A K teacher
I know took her kids to her car. They crawled in it and she played radio
loudly. They danced and liked it.
Chocolate - I was
thinking that for circus week, you could have a clown come in and do a
little show and/or facepainting.
Kathleen - Hi! I
love the idea of taking the kids to the car!
Kathleen - On the
same idea, if you could have someone bring a camper trailer to the school
parking lot, the kids could tour it, pretend to be "camping"
MJ - clown idea good--
you could even ask a parent volunteer to do that.
Kathleen - If you
have a theater group in your area, you could invite them to come and do
a little skit, demo makeup and costumes
MJ - Visiting another
part of the school is fun for some students. How about trading rooms with
an upper grade class for a few hours ?
Kathleen - MJ, trading
rooms, neat idea! totally different environment
Chocolate - :) For
our carnival week, we had someone dress up as the official carnival mascott
of our province, the kids loved it!
Chocolate - Wow good
ideas! Keep 'em coming!
Kathleen - Yes, there
are areas in a school which children never see, but would be interesting:
custodial room, kitchen, even storage areas kids walk past everyday but
never get to peek into
Chocolate - You could
have an artist come and show the kids how he does his art.
Kathleen - You could
contact the local highway/road crew and ask them to bring a piece of heavy
equipment to the parking lot for the kids to experience
Chocolate - On the
same note... firetrucks, police cars, ambulances, etc.
MJ - Yes ! You could
even show them two sides of a room. 1st make the storage room "creepy"
- maybe at Halloween time. Then show real room with storage equipment etc.
Kathleen - Some medical
people will bring a portable x-ray machine and sample x-rays for the kids
to look at. I've seen x-rays of tummies containing coins :-). That would
make an impression.
meeha/ece/tx - Have
you talked about humane society/animal protection groups/zoo representatives
come to the classroom and bring animals?
Evelyn - Often Peace
Core volunteers will come talk about countries where they have lived
Kathleen - veterinarians
MJ - Will these zoo
groups come for free ?
jk - If you participate
in the trucker buddy program, it is great to have the big rig come, and
they meet their buddy, and get to explore it.
Chocolate - Once,
we had'nt asked, but 2 forest rangers popped in with 2 baby raccoons whose
mother had died. The kids had a BALL! They were sooo cute!
Evelyn - NASA also
have free programs, you have to contact the nearest Resource Center, found
on the net, to contact their people. Sometimes there are waiting lists,
but they are free and very interesting for teachers and students.
meeha/ece/tx - Sometimes
just having a parent come in and show some aspect of her/his work is interesting
... many have jobs the kids really want to know about!
Kathleen - Senior
citizen centers might have people who would come and share old photos to
illustrate the "old days" (you know, like 1960 ;-), slide shows, artifacts
collected during travel
meeha/ece/tx - MJ
-- some will, some want a "donation", some have a fee -- most work with
you.
meeha/ece/tx - (you
do have to schedule well in advance!)
Kathleen - Yes, tapping
the resources within your own group of families can enhance your program
Evelyn - The mail
carrier will come as well as mounted police in our area.
MJ - What are some
ideas for "field trip" experiences on school grounds for the spring time
?
Evelyn - One time
our system sent out a survey and asked for parents to fill out and tell
what they do for jobs, hobbies, travels, etc. This builds a great resource
file.
jk - Some dentists
or nursing groups will come in and do a demo, give out toothbrushes, and
neat stuff. Then too, the firedepartment often has great resources.
meeha/ece/tx - I
have taken my kiddos out walking with our "looking eyes" (half-face halloween
masks)to see the "signs of the season" as we talk about a specific holiday
or the changing of the season -- all that takes is a couple of extra hands
to make sure noone gets lost!
Evelyn - Space Day
is May 4th. You could have a fitness day for astronauts and compete as
well as seek guests to come.
MJ - If you had gym
available a high school or college age athlete could demonstrate their
skills.
meeha/ece/tx - school
nurse, nutrition manager (cafeteria manager) make good "guests", too!
meeha/ece/tx - we
have a STRINGS program on my campus, occasionally the "best" group gets
to come down and play for my kiddos!
Evelyn - Earth Day
also could involve your forestry people, waste management with a recycling
truck, have a recylcing bin for paper, etc.
Chocolate - You could
have a gardener come and speak as well as have an activity for the kids
Kathleen - If you
live in a community that is traversed by train tracks there is a group
who will come in and do an interesting program about safety and trains
meeha/ece/tx - i've
also had a "singing cowboy" come as we did our "cowboy" or TEXAS unit ...
Kathleen - the train
program is FREE
jk - Lots of parents
are willing to come in to do a craft project with the kids.
meeha/ece/tx - what
group, Kathleen? I have kiddos who are totally wrapped up with trains!
MJ - Idea with no
guest -- tell kids one day that they are going somewhere tomorrow-- next
day have the room decorated differently-- You're here.
Kathleen - Your state's
dept of environmental protection likely has people who will come in to
the classroom, even Woodsy Owl and Smokey Bear
Chocolate - Florist
for spring...
Evelyn - Planting
is something I will do soon and having nursery workers come, city horticultural
managers, florists,
Kathleen - meeha,
do you have trains traveling through your community?
Kathleen - florist,
neat idea
meeha/ece/tx - American
Heart Association will come if you schedule them early enough!
quiverful - okay........what
could you differently as a homeschooler?.....
Evelyn - Foresty
ususally gets busy in last Spring with wild fires, so I would plan early
for them to come.
meeha/ece/tx - Kathleen
... a few ...
meeha/ece/tx - quiverful
-- at home or out and about?
Kathleen - quiverful,
do you mean what different kinds of visitors?
Evelyn - Homeschoolers
could get the local library involved and have a day for several homeschoolers,
including of course reading activities.
MJ - Meeha- What
will the AHA talk about? Exercise and being "heart healthy" ?
quiverful - this
is a discussion about not leaving for a field trip, right?
Kathleen - meeha,
then I think the program is available to you. I'll try to post on the chatboard
about how to contact them. e-mail me to remind me, okay? OR call your local
police dept and ask if they know how to contact them
meeha/ece/tx - one
of the local children's librarians comes to the schools to read with the
kids and encourage participation in the summer reading program
Evelyn - Ronald McDonald
has education programs about reading.
quiverful - we do
lots of field trips.....sometimes i run out of things to do at home
Kathleen - quiverful,
yes, on site experiences, but I don't think the same types of things would
be available to just one or two kids, most will come only for groups. :-(
meeha/ece/tx - MJ
-- I think that is the topic they will cover!
Kathleen - quiverful,
sounds like a real challenge, I admire you!
Evelyn - Quiverful,
if you have recycling programs in your city, does the truck stop in your
community? What about a clean up area inyour city near your home?
meeha/ece/tx - quiverful
-- how about some carefully selected video-tapes of nature sites, science
concepts, etc?
Kathleen - Local
manufacturers (I know, there are fewer and fewer of those!) might send
someone with items to demo what they manufacture, etc
quiverful - i plan
on starting a garden soon
Chocolate - How about
having someone come in and show a different kind of dance to fit your theme?
Kathleen - quiverful,
lots of potential learning there in the garden
meeha/ece/tx - Quiverful
... one that would mean some homeschoolers leave home would be to have
a weekly or monthly get-to-gether for local homeschoolers ... sing, stories,
cook, special craft -- just to break the pace!
Kathleen - dance,
yes! and other arts, too!
Kathleen - and meeha's
idea to gather a group of homeschoolers would enable you to attract resource
people who do only groups
Evelyn - Many homeschoolers
network through a local library in our area. You might find someone there.
Kathleen - silence
is golden ;-)
quiverful - yes.....we
do that......we have a teacher's meeting once a month......and a field
trip once a month......we are going to a hands on science center this month.....i
just run out of fun things to do right here at home sometimes.....we live
in a rural area.....we must drive a good bit to do anything really cool.....but
we have had experiences in our small town
MJ - Young students
seem to get a kick out of seeing people in roles that they don't usually
see them in--- how about asking the P.E. teacher to come and sing a song
with your kids, the music teacher to be a guest in your room and teach
them a painting technique-- you get it ?.
meeha/ece/tx - quiverful
-- your kids could 'adopt' an elderly member of a local church group to
come in and read/talk with them ... the kids could do writing for them,
create cards ... what a boost for some lucky person!
Kathleen - It probably
would be too difficult to arrange for a helicopter to visit. But maybe
in some communities that would be possible
meeha/ece/tx - quiverful
... you know about walking through a field with socks over shoes, then
"planting the socks" in an aluminum pie place and keeping them watered
to see what grows!
Kathleen - I know
of a school that was visited by a hot air balloonist- sponsored by ReMax
Realtors
meeha/ece/tx - ...
then you could find out what the different 'plants' are, if you all so
desired!
Chocolate - For "under
the sea" week, have someone come in with scuba gear!
Evelyn - Living in
a rural area, I would think that science would be a great resource. Farms,
plant nurseries.
quiverful - we were
lucky one day that the local lifestar helicopter came here.....we rushed
up there and they let the kids look inside.....they loved it!
meeha/ece/tx - 'tis
the season to "go fly a kite"! try several different models and see which
fly best!
Kathleen - I'd be
interested in the Lifestar helicopter!
Evelyn - Have you
ever raised butterflies? Sometimes there are professors at college that
will let their students be mentors. Have one work with your children, or
in a classroom, on a project.
meeha/ece/tx - don't
forget Home Depot ... they'll come to the classroom and let the kids build
birdhouses ... they provide the materials, you just add volunteers!
quiverful - that's
interesting evelyn......my sister is planning a unit on butterflies with
her 11 yo
Evelyn - meeha, who
pays for the materials?
meeha/ece/tx - evelyn
-- home depot -- even bring hammers and safety glasses!
Chocolate - Well
everyone, I'm going to be sensible and go to bed... I'll check you out
in the archives! Thanks for all the great ideas!!
Evelyn - Are you
familiar with Journey North? They track the migration of the butterflies
this spring along with robins, whales. Meeha, I will call them tomorrow.
MJ - I'm out of ideas
right now. What topics/ themes are you all teaching soon ?
Evelyn - I am finishing
up space and the ocean with the Jason Project. We are planting tomato seed
so we will begin planting and foods soon. Spring animals too
aj - is anyone in
this chatroom a kindergarten teacher?
MJ - As summer approaches
-- you could have children free write about what it would be like to take
a field trip to their house-- with the whole class. Yes. I'm a K teacher.
meeha/ece/tx - meteorologists
will come (from a local news station) ... this is a good time of year for
such a visit ... can talk about safety in bad weather (storms, tornadoes)
meeha/ece/tx - try
changing how people move around in your room -- 'skating' on wax paper,
backwards walking, crawling, hopping ... change up the perspective for
a day ... or an hour!
Evelyn - We tiptoe
like fairies coming into our room. We made tooth fairies on a pillow the
other day. Theyenjoyed.
meeha/ece/tx - if
you team teach, you and another teacher trade classes for a portion of
the day!
MJ - My classroom
is small but on a day when most have good behavior I think I could handle
various ways to move in the classroom-- they would love it.
meeha/ece/tx - the
kids stay in their 'normal' rooms, just the teachers change!
Evelyn - Dental hygenist
will come do teeth cleaning. The local health department has a Scrubby
Bear program. Often the fire department or police have McGruff.
Katie - Local Musicians
often offer to come to classrooms
Evelyn - During EMT
appreciation in May, have an ambulance company come visit with their ambulance.
¤êrã§êr¤
- ..well, I make power point presentations from stuff on the web. I set
them to cool music that plays for the duration of the slide show. The kids
love this as i use cool music.
Evelyn - There are
vitural field trips to zoos and aquariums on the net. Making your room
like this would be great. The rain forest would be good also. Studying
Mexico, have a celebration in May, and see Peace Core volunteers from Mexico
to come. With a hispanice populaiton in your area, have someone come share
their family culture.
MJ - Any willing
parent or guest could get a hair cut in front of your students at school.
You just need to find a hair stylist/ beautician.
Nan - aj, that is
a great idea. Maybe the students can make props to go with it. If they
were going to the zoo, they could make the animals and their habitats.
How about a pretend field trip to the actual habitat. You could turn your
classroom into the arctic.
Evelyn - Hi Merise.
we are talking about field trips at school. Any suggestions?
merise - Oh,,,I'm
from japan,,,,I'm not familiar with field trips,,,what is all that about?>evelyn
meeha/ece/tx - MJ
... i've got lots of kids and my assistant is a hairdresser ... wonder
how that would go over!
Evelyn - This is
an enrichment activity about what you are studying. Field trips to places
like a zoo when studying animals. If you cannot go there, what would you
do to enrich the subject in your classroom?
Evelyn - I would
like to take my students to a planetarium but if we cannot go, what can
I do to let them have an experience in our room?
merise - I undeerstand,
evelyn,,,Is must be effective for the elementary school students,,,
MJ - meeha-- what
do you mean "lots of kids" ? Do you have a classroom full of 25 kids or
more ? I think it would be cool to have someone with really long hair get
it cut in front of them.... or a man with a full beard could shave in front
of them.
merise - I teach
English at Japanese senior high school,,,no chance to do field trips,,,,,>evelyn
merise - mj, may
I ask the purpose??? To let the students know the job?
meeha/ece/tx - MJ
-- just 10 per session, i simply mean that kids are readily available!
(plentiful ... no shortage there! :-) )
Evelyn - Using the
internet to write English speaking students elsewhere could be an alternative
to a field trip to find English speaking students.
aj - Evelyn, how
about covering your ceiling with black paper and have your students make
stars to cover the paper. You may even be able to "create" your own constellation.
merise - evelyn,
sad to say,,,we have no enough computers here and no internet,,,sigh
meeha/ece/tx - merise
-- the concept is to let the children observe/experience something they
may not get to otherwise experience. Field trips -- be they oncampus or
away from the school -- are intended to expand a child's experience base,
thereby helping that child to understand more of the world!
Evelyn - What would
you do for dinosaurs?
merise - thank you
for your kind explanation, meeha!!! What about high school? The high school
students often experience field trips???>meeha
MJ - Evelyn-- This
would probably require permission from your principal or superior... you
could have your students and parents meet you at school one night for a
"night sky" party etc. You know, actually looking at the night sky with
them and chatting about things you have discussed in class . The students
would like to come to school at night and see their friends... maybe serve
cookies shaped like moons etc.
meeha/ece/tx - if
you create a "tent" under some tables or chairs, covered with dark blankets
-- black or dark blue on the top -- you can use coffee cans or circles
of posterboard with constellations punched in place by pins or nails ...
flash light shines behind to reflect the pattern on the "tent roof"
Nan - Evelyn you
could do research on the environment at the time of the dinosaurs and build
it in your classroom. Ex: build a volcano, etc.
merise - I would
like to demonstrate the style of American meals,,,,do you have any suggestion?
Evelyn - The night
activity could be planned on our next PTA meeting night. Using the tent
is a great idea also. thanks,
meeha/ece/tx - merise
-- yes, high school students also (occasionally) experience field trips.
this is especially true if it strongly supports a unit of study (to see
a play that has been studied for several weeks, a particular artist's showing
at a museum if it reflects a period of history they are studying, etc.
Evelyn - Merise,
I would use fast foods examples. They cater to tastes for everyone and
you could divide into groups. On an elementary level, what a great writing
experience as well.
meeha/ece/tx - merise
-- contact YFU Japan (don't know how it is said there, a high school exchange
program) and see if an alumni could hel you with this!
meeha/ece/tx - every
Tuesday nite at 9 pm eastern time early childhood educators get together
for a "meeting" -- topic varies from week to week. to get a sense of what
we discuss go to http://teachers.net/archive/index.html
and scroll to the bottom -- there are about two years of meetings saved
there ... and LOTS of great ideas!
meeha/ece/tx - teachers.net
also has mentor chat boards, email rings, and lots of lesson plans/supports!
check out http://www.teachers.net
(our home page) to see more of what all is offered ... you'll like us a
lot! come back soon and often, ok? nice meeting you all tonite!
Evelyn - Goodnite
from Alabama. Thanks again.
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