Field Trips Of The Past...

I can remember three that I really enjoyed when I was in school. The first I remember we went to either Rainbow or Butter Crust bakery, can't remember which it was, we got to watch them make up and bake bread and got some hot buttered bread fresh out of the oven plus they give us pencils and book covers. That was in elementary school but not sure what grade. In 6th grade we left out on big buses before 6am and went to San Antonio, Texas. We went to the alamo, the zoo, the park for lunch and we also went to a candy making place. Ok, you would think kids in a candy making place would be the best thing ever but let me tell you it sure did stink. They give us some candy while in there and some when we left but after being in there with that smell most of us didn't even eat it. In the 8th grade we went to Austin, Texas, the capitol of Texas. We went to and saw some very interesting things. We stayed there for 2 or 3 days, not sure right now.
My grandson is going to be going on an end of school field trip soon. They are going to go to the zoo in a town just over an hour away. I would not feel like taking kids swimming is a good idea.

We are kind of at opposite ends of the spectrum. When I was in school we went to movies, amusement parks, etc. Where I live now the field trips have to meet a learning objective or we do not go. Kindergarten goes to the pumpkin patch, they learn about the life cycle of plants, etc. Often kids go to zoos. Exploration Place, which is science oriented hands on. I work in third grade, we went to a museum to learn about Kansas History, and then we went to the Eisenhower Museum and Library. I am all for the learning type field trips, because they can be fun as well.

Well, it depends because my son is in the National Honor Society, Senior Beta,and the foreign language club,so they tend to go to lots of educational field trips.

Oh what a wonderful discussion topic!

In Elementary School, we went to a play are a real theater. Rumple Stilskin put on by college students. We went to museums and that was great!

In High School we went to see the movie version of Romeo and Juliet for English.

In college, I saw an old fashioned working grain mill. We also went to the 1812 Homestead. The Homestead had people teaching the old fashioned skills of making shingles from cedar slats and dipping candles. Later on, I joined the homestead and went to their picnics and classes. I learned how to make cheese and soap. My husband and I go every once in awhile to see how their gardens are doing and what classes they have. He loved the Blacksmith ones and I liked the wild food and useful plant identification classes. The classes depend on who they can get to come and teach old fashioned skills so it changes quite often. Ones I've missed: They've had cooking in a fireplace, spinning yarn, old fashioned Thanksgiving and old fashioned Christmas, all of which I would have liked to have seen, but 2 hours drive and the price of gas now.

Mum didn't let me go on any of those whether or not they were supervised. She read in the local paper that some of my classmates had hidden eggs in their lunch bags and then thrown them out the school bus window at passing cars on the way to their first field trip. After that she refused to sign any permission slips. I will say this, though, when I wasn't allowed to tour the Natural History Museum when the rest of my class went to Chicago, I cried so hard and so long that she finally broke down and drove up there herself and took me not only to the museum but also to Shedd's Aquarium. I think the school officials told her that she had to provide an alternate learning experience if she kept me from going with the class. I think, though, that she had as good a time as I did.

If you have have never been there, they have a wonderful web site:

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

I did go on some trips and so did my kids. I wish more schools would have them. Then again the liability factor these days is bad. If they cant control the kids on the bus any other day I would wonder about on a field trip. I guess one problem would be that there are not enough parents willing to help out at the schools now. I dont know.

I agree with you on field trips for learning. Like the ones I went to like The Old Fort. That was like a history lesson and very interesting place to go see here in Florida. It was really interesting to see and also learn. I am not sure if I had any kids that I would want them to go espically to a theme park here . We have Walt Disney World. I am not sure if field trips are being taken as much as they were when I went to school.

I went on field trips with school--I remember going to the Met Art Museum in NYC in Middle School and our bus breaking down! We had to wait for the other bus to come back to get us! It was hot and smelly on that bus (it had a/c and a bathroom, but the driver wouldn't run the a/c for us!), so we were allowed to get off in pairs and go to the corner (waaaayyyy down the street!) to get drinks. Of course, this was in 1984 and we were watching street break dancing, something really cool when you're in 7th grade and the town shuts down at 9 PM! I also went to a poetry festival my senior year--really cool!

I also recall trips we took with our Girl Scout troop (yeah, yeah, I know, a Geek!)...I recall our trip to NYC to visit the Empire State Building, going to Mama Leone's for dinner and to the Rockettes! I have two specific memories of that trip: once we left the rooftop of the Empire State Building, we got into groups to get on the elevator. Something happened to the other elevator and it got stuck! Unfortunately, one of the mothers on our trip is claustraphobic and nearly had a breakdown in the elevator!

The second memory nearly made my mom super embarassed. Mama Leone's was a very famous Italian restaurant back in the 80s, with authentic Italian cuisine. Southern Italian to be exact. My grandfather emigrated here from northern Italy just after WW I, and my grandmother's family was also from northern Italy. So, when I tasted their meatballs, I said (quite loudly!), "These aren't as good as yours mom!" in front of everyone! And I was 11 or 12 years old at the time! Needless to say, my mother turned 50 sheets of red, apologized to the chef who came to our table to meet us, and then told me on the way home while she appreciated how I felt, it wasn't necessary for me to announce it in front of the chef! Ooops!

You're right Twoey, children do not get to take the kind of field trips that we use to take. We were able to do so much more. In fact the graduating class this year did not even get a senior trip. I find it so sad, they miss out on so much because of government cut backs.

My kids always go on the field trips. My son went on a field trip to see the Portland Trailblazers at home, two years in a row. He also went on the 6th grade overnight coast trip when he was in 6th grade. My oldest daughter is going on the 6th grade coast trip in 2 weeks. My mom is one of the chaperons. The coast trip is an incredible learning experience and the kids are required to write an essay on a marine animal, take tests, and do a project before being allowed to go. While they are there, they will be learning about tide pools, ocean life on the beach, starfish, etc. It's not just a 6th grade trip, they have to earn the privilege of going.

My youngest is going on a field trip this Thursday. The 4th graders are going on the Douglas County Forestry Tour. I think they are a great idea. It's a great hands-on teaching opportunity that most kids can't get anywhere else. I'm glad we live in the mountains.

I think they need to bring back the educational trips, but the funding is crappy. The kids earned their own money for the coast trip by selling candy bars and such.