Skip to main content

Benefits of Field Trips – 4 Hour Class

In our class, we try to go on a few outings during the month. Since September we have been on a few. To name some like the Nature Park, the Pumpkin Patch, the Recycling Depot, the Library, and to visit our Grand pals. Most recently, we have been to the Airport and to Larry Berg Flight Park.

Going on field trips gives the children learning opportunities away from our regular class environment. It provides them with new experiences and challenges in a different setting than school. It helps them learn in an interactive manner and also provides hands on learning opportunities. For some it’s taking risks out of their comfort zone and for some it’s a way to experience new adventures with their peers.

Other benefits of field trips are that they provide varied ways of learning which help children succeed if they are visual learners, auditory learners or kinetic learners. It is amazing to see what children see through their eyes and to listen to their comments and conversations amongst each other. Sometimes the children may not discuss their experiences immediately but during the days after, we do hear things that pertain to the outing. It’s amazing what they retain and how they learn through experiences.
 
During our trip to the airport the children were excited to see the planes taking off from the observation deck. It triggered memories of when they went on a trip or when they came to the airport to pick up a family member. There was much chatter going on. We explored with the telescopes and the 3D model that was showcased. There were also simple learning opportunities such as walking through the busy airport and staying with the group and using our safety awareness when walking from the bus to the airport entrance way.
 

 
 
When we went to the Flight Park, we climbed the huge globe in the centre of the park and looked at all the different countries and continents. We counted planes and helicopters that went above us. We also had our snack in the park and exerted a lot of energy by running along the globe and climbing up and down. We also made gliders prior to going on our field trip to take with us to fly at the park.



Field trips enable social interaction, community awareness and exposure to new places and new ideas. It is a way to connect to the real world, and to our community. I believe there is an opportunity for learning everywhere and not just in the classroom.

Until next time, take care
Deanna

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mosaic Garden Stones

Today our children had an amazing opportunity to work with Glen Anderson, a local artist specializing in mosaics. You can see his work at http://www.mosaicplanet.net . I met Glen last year at Urban Weavers Studio in Strathcona. I asked him many, many questions about mosaics, all of which he patiently answered with expertise. I was gearing up for an art project in our preschool class so I really wanted to get any pointers I could from him. The plan was to have our students make mosaic tiles to place along our fence at the garden plot at Terra Nova Farm. They worked out very well, thanks to Glen's great advice and it was a beautiful moment when child and parent hung the stones at the farm on our last day of school. It was a moment of great pride for all of us. The garden that they cared for with their own hands- tended to its needs in sunshine and in rain. They will always remain part of that space, that land and their stone will remind them of this connection. Even though they turne...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Love for Cabbage

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Day at the Farm... with a twist

We were all looking forward to heading to the farm. We had not been in two whole weeks so we were all experiencing farm deprivation disorder! We craved outdoor time, running on the paths, and checking out our favourite spots. We had no particular agenda- nothing to plant, nothing to weed, nothing to harvest and literally nothing to do! Perfect!!  Actually, we did have one special thing happening there but I will get to that in a moment. The children could not get off the bus fast enough, bounding down the tall stairs. Jackets on, zipped up, hats and mitts on, ready to face the chill of December. The children tossed their knapsacks onto the picnic table with abandon, and began to run around the courtyard area, obediently staying on the paths  ( finally, four months later they have learnt to stay out of the garden beds). They shouted, they chased and fell down! Once our initial burst of energy was out (only slightly), we walked over to the compost to see what the worms w...
Post a Comment
Read more