Planning a Field Trip Checklist and Find Field Trips

Field trips are a popular activity for all students. No matter how old they are or where they are headed, kids love to explore new places with their friends. Such activities should be encouraged, but good planning and organization is necessary to ensure a successful trip.

Students, even preschoolers, may take a couple of days off in order to take field trips every school year. As students grow older, the frequency of field trips can increase to 3 or 4 each year. As a teacher, you will want to be prepared by having a field trip checklist ready at hand!

Before leaving for a field trip, you must ensure that the required supplies are in order.

• Prepare 2 copies of the participant list. Include pictures if it's an out-of-city trip. Leave one copy at school just in case.
• Recruit chaperones to go with you. These can ideally be parents or siblings older than 18 years. A good idea is to assign 10 kids to a chaperone. This way you can rest assured that all the kids are accounted for at all times, and that someone is looking after them.
• Make a list of allergies or any special issues each kid may suffer from. Let each chaperone know of those who need extra care in their group.
• You should have a list of phone numbers of all the chaperones as well as those of the places you intend to visit.
• Make sure that all the students have their parents'/guardians' permissions before finalizing their names for attendance.
• Arrange for a first-aid kit, water, pens, pencils and notepads.
• If you intend to take lunch with you, inform the cafeteria at least two weeks before you leave with the necessary details.

Before departing make sure that you have the following things in order:

• All children should be dressed appropriately for the weather, and must wear their ID badges and labels.
• Chaperones should be familiar with kids they are responsible for.
• Everyone should wear a seatbelt or safety restraint as appropriate.
• Review the emergency and safety procedures with everyone.
• Inform the students and their chaperones of the appropriate behavior on the field trip.

As you arrive at your destination, keep the following points in mind:

• Agree on a place to meet in case someone gets lost. Communicate it clearly with the children and chaperones.
• Identify the safe persons for the children. These may include security guards, ushers, etc.
• Reassure the children that you will look for them in case they separate from the group. However, emphasize that they should stay in the designated area.
• Give a final check to the names of the children and chaperones as the get off the bus.
• If they have parental permission, ask the students to apply insect repellent or sun block as appropriate.

As you return from a successful field trip, make sure that everything you had left with is finally on board.

This checklist should be an integral part of your teacher resources kit. You should also jot down necessary facts and figures to prepare a worksheet for those children who were unable to attend.

Places To Find Field Trips For Schools

1. Apple Store Field Trips
2. ClassTrips.comears.
3. Environmental Protection Agency
4. Fieldtrip.com
5. Field Trip Factory
6. National Park Service
7. National Wildlife Federation For Kids
8. Project Learning Tree
9. The Wild Ones