With school back in full swing, field trips are about to begin. That means, thousands of unsuspecting parents will be roped into chaperoning. While I’ve been there, done that and would do it again a million times over, it’s also pretty trying sometimes! Here are a few pointers:
Bring Your Patience: You’ll need it. The kids are crazy excited to be headed wherever they’re going to do whatever they’re doing because it means they aren’t at school. Hyperness and occasional insanity will ensue. Mentally prepare yourself.
Bring Snacks and Lots of Water: In order to survive the day, you need to have plenty of fuel and water. Eat a full breakfast and drink plenty of water. Chasing kids around is no joke!
Pack a Survival Kit: In additional to snacks and H2O, I highly suggest loading your backpack with a few key things: BAND-AIDS, BAND-AIDS, and did I mention BAND-AIDS? Also, Kleenex, a barf bag, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, bug spray, an extra pair of gloves (depending on whether) and an extra pair of socks (depending on destination).
Come With a Plan and a Good Memory: Kids are awesome, until they’re not. Think of some fun games you can play with them if you have downtime. Brainstorm ways to remember their names. Decide if you are going to be “good cop” or “bad cop.”
Bring a Good Set of Lungs: While I don’t suggest yelling at kids, trying to gather them after an hour spent running wild on a playground or around a park will be like herding cats. You’ll need to be able to shout. Eyes in the back of your head would also come in handy. Just an FYI.
Sharpen Your Counting Skills: If you arrive back at the bus with one less kid, chances are you’ll never be asked back. If that is your plan, carry on. If not, make sure you have a numbering system to keep track of them. Assign each kid a number and have them sound-off. They’ll think it’s fun and you’ll know you’ve successfully regathered your whole flock.
Don’t Forget the Asprin: For you, not them. I’m sure someone would sue you if you gave little Johnny an Advil. But you’ll probably, most likely end up with a headache. Don’t leave home without this.
Pack Earplugs: Just kidding. Maybe.
Seriously though, kids are great. You’ll probably have just as much fun as they do. Or you’ll want to lose your mind. Could go either way.
Good luck,
Mavis
Kathy says
I survived going to Cleveland Metroparks Rainforest and Zoo with 36 3-5 year old preschoolers. Was actually a ton of fun! Also chaperoned same 36 kids to Inventure Place, a museum [of sorts] of inventions through the years, with the bottom floor hands-on for kids. Not so much fun, was pure torture trying to get them back on the bus at the end of the day. Would do it all again though.
My father always chaperoned the field trips to natural history and art museums and to see the Cleveland Orchestra, telling me if I ever had kids to volunteer at least once for trips to fun places.
I would do it all again, if given the chance.
Tracy says
I’m with you Kathy, I’d do again in a heartbeat. My kids are now 20 and this is one of the things I miss the most. In grade school kids still WANT to hang out with their parents 😉
Thank you for the post Mavis, it definitely made me chuckle. There was madness and mayhem, but such good memories were made.
Butterflyweed says
The major thing I DO NOT MISS about having young children is field trips! I went on every single one my two kids had in grade school and it was pretty much a nightmare almost every time.
I also would never drive on one again. So many times it was the parents driving because the bus cost too much. What a liability!
I became a class pariah because the morning of one field trip, my other child woke up with a high fever and sore throat. I had no one else to care for a sick child so I had to let them know I wouldn’t be able to chaperone that day. I RUINED EVERYTHING! Exactly what was I supposed to do? It was also a stupid field trip to a local park to wander around looking for owl pellets. The lady conducting the field trip came to the school instead and they went into some undeveloped property next to the school for the lesson. Seemed to work out fine to me.
I recommend taking that Advil before you even leave the house in the morning. Then another at lunch. Bring extra food, someone is always without their lunch so if you need a mid-day bite, bring something extra or you go without because who can resist a hungry kid?
I think that most field trips are a waste of time and money. It was usually things we had already done as a family.
Carrie says
I am really angered by your comment about the “stupid field trip to a local park”. I am an Environmental Educator who works at a local park. We see thousands of school children a year, majority of which are terrified to step onto our trails. Often times its not the subject matter (owl pellets) that matters but the experience of being in the woods. Children today are so desensitized to our natural world due to electronics being in their faces at home and school they can’t appreciate the beauty around them. There are so many underprivileged children in our country that can’t go on trips with their family that a trip to the local park 5 miles away is a huge deal. What I do matters and is not a waste of time or money (our classes are only $3.50/student!).
It’s usually the parents that make my job difficult. If an instructor is asking a question, it is addressed to the students not a know-it-all parent. Also, leave the cell phones off and put away. It doesn’t matter if you are at a park, museum, ball game or concert hall. Enjoy the time with your child.
Mary from Chattanooga says
Mavis has some great pointers in this article and I didn’t see anything about a “stupid” something.
She does a fabulous job on each and every topic she writes about.
I look forward to her blog each day and I’ve learned so much from her.
Have a nice day!
Pagie says
Carrie was referring to Butterflyweed’s post, not Mavis’s. And, I couldn’t agree more with Carrie’s post. There are too many children and adults that are desensitized to the natural world around them. Keep up the good work Mavis and Carrie!
Butterflyweed says
We live in an affluent rural area. ALL of these kids had been in the woods. ALL had seen deer and raccoons and bears. It makes sense for urban kids to go to parks. Not kids raised on acreage. AND it is a nightmare to keep track of unruly kids in the woods.
Leslie says
Your list of survival supplies is great! I don’t miss field trips AT ALL…mostly the bus rides. Oh my! Too many times I didn’t remember the aspirin for me!
I’m passing on this list to my nieces who are at the field trip stage!
mandy says
I went on as many as I could as well, so much fun. I’m lucky they still let me go after my 2nd grade incident. I guess it wasn’t exactly a field trip, it was a treasure hunt on school grounds for Halloween. I was put in charge of 8 kids and came back with 2. They kept asking me if they could go to the bathroom or get drinks of water. I would tell them ok. just come right back.
My son and his friends always minded me. I found out that others didn’t. So, after that I made sure before hand that I wouldn’t be in charge of a group on the field trips I went on.
Emily says
My kids school has a mandatory background check requirement on all parents attending a field trip, which I am thankful for. The school policy for field trips is also to use public transportation which was an eye opener for the suburbs. Once the commuter train took them an hour away from the school, they connected to bus routes and everyone came back safe. I’m sure that called for a lot of Advil.
Julie says
I’d like to offer another perspective.
I could never attend my children’s field trips because of my job. I’ll always regret that I didn’t attend any. I always hoped that my kids were listening to the chaperones; and that everyone was enjoying the experience.