74Heaven Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 My 1st gr, 4th gr and 7th grader are ahead in most subjects... I am thinking of almost ''unschooling'' them next year. Of course, my personality is not a good match for unschooling as I am pretty ''anxious'' about traditional schooling requirements, checking all the boxes, etc. So I know I can not embrace 'unschooling' fully - it will have to be planned out somewhat... I would like suggestions for enrichment curriculum, field trips, fun extras, etc. We have missed most field trips for many years because of having ''littles'' around. Well with my youngest being 7yo I am thinking we will be able to enjoy a little more relaxed schooling for a year or so.... So from the fish hatchery to the weather station to the local pizzeria - can you give me some ideas for field trips, extras, symphony, community programs, etc. Really, give me your ----best---- ideas. [One caveat, we do not have a zoo, museum, aquarium or hardly any big city amenities nearby; nor do we have the funds for any big or small excursions at this time. But we do live near a 400,000 population city so we do have theatre, parks and rec depts, etc.... Oh and I am open to hearing about both drop off activities and family outings/field trips, but outside classes/paid tuition won't work for us.] Thanks for the ideas lisaj, mom to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 See if there are any Jr. Ranger programs (they are do-it-yourself, not the kind the rangers offer) at the parks that are close to you. Here in NoVa, we have several--I printed off resources to use that they had online, and we are going to do them as part of our science this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Several colleges in my area have theatre departments and they have "school time" performances. The cost is usually around $8/person. We have seen some really good educational stuff. We have membership to numerous museums so we are always going to museums. You could try and organize something with local homeschoolers so you get a group discount. We have been to a ton of events this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 My 1st gr, 4th gr and 7th grader are ahead in most subjects... I am thinking of almost ''unschooling'' them next year. Of course, my personality is not a good match for unschooling as I am pretty ''anxious'' about traditional schooling requirements, checking all the boxes, etc. So I know I can not embrace 'unschooling' fully - it will have to be planned out somewhat... I would like suggestions for enrichment curriculum, field trips, fun extras, etc. We have missed most field trips for many years because of having ''littles'' around. Well with my youngest being 7yo I am thinking we will be able to enjoy a little more relaxed schooling for a year or so.... So from the fish hatchery to the weather station to the local pizzeria - can you give me some ideas for field trips, extras, symphony, community programs, etc. Really, give me your ----best---- ideas. [One caveat, we do not have a zoo, museum, aquarium or hardly any big city amenities nearby; nor do we have the funds for any big or small excursions at this time. But we do live near a 400,000 population city so we do have theatre, parks and rec depts, etc.... Oh and I am open to hearing about both drop off activities and family outings/field trips, but outside classes/paid tuition won't work for us.] Thanks for the ideas lisaj, mom to 5 Do you have any sort of historic places nearby that would take your family on as docents? You might look especially at smaller historic sites like historic houses or smaller museums that might consider letting you volunteer in areas from housekeeping to archive work to presenting living history. The National Parks Service has a Teaching with Historic Places program. This features many of the smaller, local and state sites. They also welcome educator created lesson plans. Perhaps your family could put together lesson plans as a family project. The idea of writing up curriculum for community sites is also one that you could apply to the fire department, police department, trash company, power company, etc. Do you have any colleges nearby that might have collections in their science or natural history departments. Also local operas and symphonies often have programs for school age students. We attended several opera performances that were done for students. These were a dress rehearsal but were the full performance. Symphonies often have lollipop concerts of other children's programs. FWIW, 400,000 might not be New York City, but it is plenty big to have lots of cool things to explore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Are you doing a foreign language? Languages are a great enrichment choice, and just different enough from other studies to be intriguing. What about nature study? This is something you can plan to a certain extent, while allowing for plenty of creativity along the way. Start a nature journal - - it would be neat to walk a certain route each week or two and record your observations. Enhanced nature study might include: a garden, bird watching (set up a feeder), worm farm, compost bin, and of course your usual nature walks and observations. Science: how about concentrating on the fun, messy parts of science for a year? Get a book of experiments and pick whatever looks interesting. Round out with dvds and biographies from the library. I'm not a huge fan of 'field trips' myself, in the sense of planned excursions geared toward school children. They tend to present little kibbles of packaged information to the kids, in a very 'school-ish' way (most of the time). So I prefer to go to performances on regular days, not student days, and suss out the least crowded times at the musuem, etc. Almost any good-sized town will yield some interesting finds if you take the time to wander. Look for interesting book stores, check out the public transportation, search for locally owned restaurants and businesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Lisa, if I could make a suggestion, it sounds like what you're looking for is a year with more away from home things, not necessarily unschooling all your academics. The easiest way to make that happen consistently (and not have it degrade into something you won't like) is to sign your kids up for several things, let your schedule fill up till it nears insanity, then plug in academics where they fit. Might just be the cure to counterbalance other years where you haven't been out as much. We all go in cycles like that. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Lisa, if I could make a suggestion, it sounds like what you're looking for is a year with more away from home things, not necessarily unschooling all your academics. The easiest way to make that happen consistently (and not have it degrade into something you won't like) is to sign your kids up for several things, let your schedule fill up till it nears insanity, then plug in academics where they fit. Might just be the cure to counterbalance other years where you haven't been out as much. We all go in cycles like that. :) :iagree: Yep. If they're busy doing soccer and art and dance and band and rockclimbing and playdates at the children's museum and member's days at the science museum, you'll find very quickly that your schedule is packed full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Pick your favorite museum and get a family membership. That way you can go as often as you like for whatever amount of time. I find we get to all the major exhibits that way. I've always thought it would be great to journal about field trips. It would be fun to read later and help with writing. We've rarely done it but I still think it sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 I suppose I could ''do math'''; plan lots of writing and reading and maybe keep up our Latin.... hmmmm, seems we could really have a fun year if I could swing this.... I think this is the exact kind of homeschooling year --I-- need. Thank you so much for all the great ideas... One other 'problem' is that we live 25 minutes away from the edge of town. To really have a field trip/activity - just going anywhere is an hour into town and an hour back home...... More ideas welcome - I am getting these printed. lisaj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Maybe you don't have to go from one extreme to the other, but just add a "field trip day" to your schedule, like Fridays, or maybe the middle of the week to break it up, say, Wednesdays. With a little tweeking most curriculua can fit into a 4 day schedule. No specific ideas here on the outings, too many littles around here to even begin to think about that, I just suggest that you don't go to the other extreme. You are having such great success at academics. You don't want to set a new pattern of "fun, fun, fun" for a whole year or two, then try to go back to academics and struggle to get everyone back on an academic schedule. Keep doing well what you are doing well! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Have you looked into 4-H. I think thier program books are wonderful and very under used by the homeschool community. Even if you don't join a group the books are great. They all have worksheets, projects, report ideas, field trip ideas, ect. There are topics on all kinds of things from the typical farm animal ones you are thinking of to woodworking, hiking, economics, cooking, child developement, bikes, electronics, and so on. Not only that but they are very affordable, in many counties they are free, but if not then they are $3.00 a book. http://www.4-hmall.org/Curriculum.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) I love field trips & elementary level info is a great intro, in my book (preschool info, no). I'd choose topics first, and plan activities second. Unless you have specific wonderful opportunities you know about in your area, it'd be easier to find things that fit into topics rather than fit things that fit into field trip ideas you've heard about in other places? We've done a year of state history-themed field trips. Then I tried to pin a "date" on each field trip & we created a state history notebook. Occupations is another good field trip theme, and everyone in your area is a likely candidate for having something to contribute :) Factory tours are so interesting. Fewer are allowed since 9/11, but there are still some surprising ones out there. Life skills is another theme I was thinking about. Banks have lots to teach in that regard, as well as sometimes allowing children to open accounts. They could look at shopping in new ways, study up on healthy choices, go to a car lot, look at apartment ads & go on tours, visit power plants, fix things around the house, etc. Your 7th grader especially will benefit from such things. Hobbies & recreation are often taught in phy ed or health classes. This year my dh & ds did woodworking, leather work, photography, car repair, etc. All of these things could be supplemented with virtual tours online, as well as notebooking, which I love as a learning tool. P.S. If I had a year of time, I'd probably also add: - weather - rocks - playground games & common children's songs - go through the book of Proverbs for Bible, copywork, character training Edited July 8, 2009 by Julie in MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.