20 Fantastic Field Trip Ideas (and why you should take them)

20 Fantastic Field Trip Ideas

I’m a huge fan of field trips.

It’s one of the things that makes me grateful for the flexibility of Waldorf teaching. Why do I love field trips so much?

I love exploring the world with my students.

It feels like another opportunity for me to teach them things about interacting with the world. I’ve taught them to always offer their seat when riding the bus and smile when passing someone on the sidewalk. On camping trips they’ve learned to do their own dishes, pack their own lunches and set up their own tents. There are so many opportunities for teaching courtesy and independence that you just can’t get in the classroom.

I love sharing my students with the world.

Because our school is downtown, we often walk through the business/financial part of town. Our excursions inspire lots of smiles and comments from men in 3-piece suits and women in fashionable pumps. I love that these people get to witness a polite and enthusiastic group of children learning about the world in a unique way. So, I guess our trips include a little bit of public service.

There are so many opportunities and experiences that groups of students can engage in that just aren’t possible for individuals.

Over the years I’ve taken students on tours of local small businesses (a printing press, a bakery, a chocolate factory.) We’ve attended student-oriented orchestra concerts. We even took over a historic schooner for a class sailing trip! Heading out for an excursion like that, with 20 of your best friends, is an experience that can only happen on a class field trip.

Planning for those trips, though, can sometimes feel like the one extra thing that can put us over the edge. And in this day and age, parents worry and want to know that your trips are well-managed and their children will be safe.

To help with this, I’ve put together a free Field Trip Planner pdf. Just enter your email address in the form below to get it.

Free Field Trip Planner PDF

Planning field trips can feel overwhelming. Make sure you're not forgetting anything by following this easy checklist.

Deciding where to go can be another big challenge. Some main lesson blocks really lend themselves to field trips, but for others it’s more challenging to find curriculum-appropriate trips. For example, the 4th grade local geography block is perfectly suited to getting out and visiting the important historical places in your community. And for your 3rd grade farming block, you better head out to a local farm! But what about 5th grade India? Or 6th grade Physics?

If you push yourself, you can probably come up with some creative curriculum-appropriate options, even for those challenging blocks, but I encourage you to not let the curriculum limit your options. It’s perfectly fine to take a field trip, just for the sake of taking a trip, even if it is only tangentially (or not at all) related to the curriculum.

Here are some ideas for some non-curriculum specific field trips that your students will love, no matter what block you’re in.