Allisence: Queen of Crazy Field Trips

I am the Queen of Crazy Field Trips. Every time I hand the school secretary a field trip permission form, she laughs and asks where we’re going this time. The joke is that we’re headed for Disneyland come May; she’s already volunteered to chaperone.

Let me assure you we are not headed for Disneyland—ever. Even still, I don’t plan on relinquishing my title any time soon.

This all started when I brought my fifth grader to the 99-cent store across the street from school. He had money goals, so it made sense. Then we headed (as an entire class) to PetSmart, as we had been studying animal vocabulary and PetSmart is a billion times cheaper than the Phoenix Zoo. In fact, all my crazy field trips are free.

This is especially true because self-contained classes in my school district can simply borrow one of the district vans whenever we want to go on a field trip. The district even coughs up a little bit of gas money, opening the door to limitless opportunities for real-world experiences. (Yes, I know I sound like an ad.)


Of course, these field trips aren’t just fun and games. All my kids walked around PetSmart with pencils and clipboards taking notes, finding different animals, and working on their descriptive words in particular (see above). We even came home with a blue betta fish named “The Fish,” which they feed every morning and which we use to discuss both orientation and action words.

Next up is the Arizona State Fair, two Fridays from now. In fact, for the past 30 years, the Kiwanis Club of Phoenix has teamed up with the Arizona State Fair to offer a special free morning to children with exceptionalities called “Kids’ Day at the Fair.” A fellow special ed teacher gave me the heads up about the event, and it got me so excited because my kids rarely have a chance to just be kids and experience childhood events like going to the fair.

I’m absolutely positive Oct. 28 will be a day my students will never forget and I feel so privileged that my district gives the class permission to go on such exciting adventures and allows me to borrow the van. However, this is the only district I’ve ever worked for; while I assume I’m blessed to be in the situation I am, I don’t actually know what field trip situations are like elsewhere.

Though they may sound crazy to the average person, I feel like these trips are essential to my students’ learning and really give them access to real-world experiences and opportunities they would otherwise never encounter.

How about you? What are your thoughts on field trips? Are my students and I just incredibly fortunate? Do you have to fight to let your kids go off campus? I would love some perspective.

Comments

[Sue Hamilton]

Wow-it sounds like you have some great experiences with your class. My class, self-contained gets to go on community skills every week. We get to go to the park, Target, mall, and a variety of different places. Also, we are fortunate to have a school next door that houses a coffee shop. We walk to the school and they sell us a snack and drink for fifty cents. My students get to work on their social and life skills on these trips. My class gets to go with the general ed students on their field trips as well. We are very lucky to have these expereinces. Some of my students do not get to go places with their parents so these experiences with the school are price less. Good luck with your field trips!

[Kim D]

Field trips can bring perspectives and experiences to students that textbooks cannot. I think a trip to Petsmart is a great idea! You are an innovative teacher. Makes me want to take my son to the pet shop more often to enrich his vocabulary.

[Jesse James]

Field trips are great, when the school and parents allow it. I have a student who has not been able to go on a field trip yet because their parents for some reason don't want them to.

My school is pretty good at letting students go on field trips. These days with funding being a rare commodity, I thought for sure that schools would cut down on the amount of field trips that the students got to go on. Luckily, this hasn't been the case. We have a great group of parents who are willing to give up their time and volunteer so that the school doesn't have to hire substitutes to cover the teachers that would be gone. I feel that as long as parents stay involved with schools, field trips with continue to be a great learning experience for all students.

[Janine Stanton]

Love the field trip ideas! I'm not sure if you are just so fortunate to be able to experience these or if other teachers just aren't that creative as you are. I began thinking about the PetSmart trip and not only can you use that in the way that you did, but also for older students who are in the transition stages - this could open up to having a work experience there if they want to be with animals (I have a student that wants to be a vet/work with animals but there is no way with her disability that she would be able to be a vet). I think it can help from all angles from the money, to comparing prices, to the "lingo" of different animals.
When I was in grade school I was able to go to the Rendezvous we have here in my town, that was a free event I believe and got to experience a lot of neat things. However, I do remember do a lot of field trips that were big and glorious (and I'm assuming expensive) such as visiting the zoos, state capital, and the planetarium. None of which I remember the educational purpose but instead the fun. I think if you keep the students involved in these field trips with life long skills - they will gain so much! Keep up the good work with these amazing field trips!

[Ashley]

I love your field trip ideas! And, I'm sure most special education teachers would love to provide their students with positive real-world experiences as well. However, at least in the district I am student teaching in, experiences like your field trips are limited. Due to transportation, permission from the district special education supervisor, etc. Consider yourself and students very fortunate! And I hope your trip to the Arizona State Fair turned out great!

[Alysha]

I think your field trip ideas are amazing! You are bringing the information learned in the classroom into the community and showing your students how they relate to real life experiences. I really like how you have chosen to bring your students to stores that they would normally go to in the community. I think it's great that you have access to a district van. Hopefully there are a few of them so you would be able to have access to it when you want to take them on a trip.

I think you have some great ideas and I will keep them in mind for when I have my own classroom and hopefully my district will work the same way yours does.

[Megan]

I LOVE FIELD TRIPS! I am student teaching right now and I went on a field trip this year with the kindergarten class to the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch. I went with because I had a student that was a diabetic and I knew her medical needs. We had so much fun! Then only thing that I was disappointed about was it wasn't very handicap accessible and we had to push this student in her wheelchair through the orchard. Next time I would like to contact the place and see if there's a different route we could take so she could still have the experience. Otherwise I think that field trips are great for the students to interact with their peers whether they have a disability or not. Also, they are able to see things that they may never with their parents. Some students aren't able to travel and see different things because they're families don't have the funds to support these kinds of things. So I think it is especially important for these students.

[Carissa]

You are definitely very fortunate to be allowed to go on these field trips whenever you want. I work for a school as a substitute paraprofessional and start student teaching in a few months. The school i work for, many of the students go on little to no field trips, and if they do there is a fee to their family to allow them to go on the field trip. I think it sounds wonderful ho you have thought of great free field trips for your students. It is necessary for students with disabilities to see exactly what they are learning. I feel that this is a more hands on and more beneficial way for students with disabilities to learn. I think it would be beneficial to anyone to be put in real life situations of what they are learning, but even better for those with disabilities.I think field trips are also great for gaining basic knowledge on the outside world. I worked with a student who had no idea about things such as skiing, tubing, and so many other activities because she has never done them or yet heard of them. By being exposed to the world i feel field trips can help round a person. It may be something so many people do everyday but to a student who has never done something that is done on a field trip, it can truly open their eyes. Keep us posted on other great field trips you go on. Some field trips can sound so simple to one person and be a great idea that someone else has never thought of!

[Courtney]

You are very fortunate to be able to go on so many field trips with your students! I think it sounds like such a wonderful learning experience for them. It is great that your self contained classroom is not limited for field trips due to transportation needs or budget cuts. I know that right now in the school district I am student teaching in, field trips are hard because of all the budget cuts, especially in busing and transportation. I think your students are very lucky they get to go on so many field trips and they are getting out into the community. Students learn so much more when they can relate their classroom learning to the real world! I hope that when I have a classroom of students one day, I can take them on free field trips so they can get out in the community and learn, just like your students are doing. Thanks for your story!

[Alyssa]

Good luck with the field trips and keep pushing for more. Community based learning like that is EXTREMELY beneficial for the students. It is a multi-sensory experience that is hands-on and provides direct feedback on their skills. I have gone on several field trips in which we took some students shopping at a local grocery story. The lesson to prepare was on finding clothes that fit. We learned about L,M,S and had the kids go into the store and pick out an outfit. In the end they didn't buy the outfit, but they bought a small misc. item if they brought money. It is memorable for both students and teachers to be apart of.

[Caitlin]

Fieldtrips are a wonderful learning opportunity for students! I'm am going with my students to a transition fair tomorrow. I'm super excited to go and I think the students are to! It will be good for them to learn from someone else about what opportunities are open for them after high school. They will also get the opportunity to listen to student speakers who are roughly around their age.

[Morgan]

I am loving reading about your class! These field trips sound like amazing opportunities for your students to learn in real world situations. I am not yet a licensed teacher, but I will student teach this coming winter. I really hope my placement site is as flexible about field trips and transportation as your school's administration.

[Nicole]

Field Trips are such a great opportunity for any student, but especially students with special needs! It is important, especially in the special education classroom, that we teach important life skills. Not everything can be taught in the classroom. In all of my special education classes, it has been drilled into me the importance of real life experiences and making everything as close to the real thing as possible. This could be as simple as using real money instead of plastic coins, or pictures on a worksheet. Not only does this make it more meaningful for the students, but many students have trouble with generalization, and understanding that the pictures of coins they see on their worksheets are the same as the real coins they use in the store. The more realistic you can make your learning experiences, the more beneficial they will be to your students.

[Kathleen]

Your ideas of going on field trips are awesome!! In the room that I am student teaching in at the moment, we are able to take outings around the town at least once or twice a week when weather is good. You are right though. Many of our field trips may sound crazy to the average person but they are fantastic for the students that I am working with. Some of the outings we go to are: local grocery store, library, walks around town, restaurants, clothing stores, pool, parks, Walmart, Shopko, and we are planning to take the students to the mall. As a teacher of exceptional children, I think that it is very valuable to get the students out and about in the community. Another fun outing that we are working on is going camping. Many places are starting to get ready for the end of the year and prices are going down. We found a place that allows us to come and spend the night in a cabin with our students. It is an experience that is important.
The district made it possible for us to do a lot of activities with out students because the Special Education department bought a van to transport the students where we go. If the van was not ours or the schools, I have a feeling that we would not be going on so many close to school outings.
For the future though, I will make sure there is a van or bus available for me to use or know what is close and not close to take the students. In my opinion, even taking a walk and learning what is around the school is beneficial.

[Leighann]

Thank you for sharing your story! These field trips seem like amazing opportunities for your students, and ones that they may not be able to have if they were not in your class. I remember how much I loved going on field trips, and how I learned more on those days away from school than I sometimes did in a whole week in the classroom. It is one thing to learn about how to properly use money, but it is another to actually go to a store, select items, and pay for them using real money. This hands-on experience will go a long way in deepening the students understanding of the topics being taught.

I think it is great that the school district makes field trips available to the students who have special needs, and they are not excluded from going on fun adventures because of their disability. No child should ever feel like he or she is not able to have the same experiences as his or her peers.

When I begin to teach in my own classroom, I will make sure to take my children on field trips whenever possible, in order to give them a new perspective on what is being learned, such as working on descriptive words in a pet store. By providing them with another outlet for learning, I will be deepening their understanding and appreciation of what is being taught. Hopefully, by allowing them to learn not only in the classroom but in the world as well, the students will become well-rounded learners and individuals.