Too many field trips?

[Anonymous]

My kid's kindergarten class goes on a LOT of field trips. Two a month, on average. They've been to three different grocery stores (to learn about food and money), apple picking, a mass-market kids' movie, a pet store, and at least a few others. And still on the calendar is a trip to the aquarium, the zoo, and possibly an amusement park.

Do all schools do this? What do you think? Too much? Pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Former 1st grade teacher (DCPS). I did one trip per month and in March, April, May and June, I did 2 per month. None of my trips were to an amusement park or a movie though.

The kindergarten classes at my school did 2 trips per month. A movie and an amusement park just sounds like the teacher wants a free day to not teach. All the other stuff (maybe not the pet store) sound educational.

The grocery store trip is a common K trip.

[Anonymous]

My MCPS school does 1 a quarter.. Doesn't that get pricey?

[Anonymous]

In my former DCPS, each class was officially slotted for one field trip per month. However, in the late winter/early spring, the administration wanted to minimize out-of-class time for older kids who were taking the CAS. So during those months, the younger, non-CAS kids got more field trips. Any chance this might be happening at your school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MCPS school does 1 a quarter.. Doesn't that get pricey?

There are only 3 or 4 trips that involve a cost to the parents (admission fees) and a cost to the district (bus rentals). Doesn't cost anything to walk to a grocery store.

[Anonymous]

Too many with respect to what? To what else you think they should be doing? The children's ability to handle and process them? The parents' ability to keep track and accompany?
I think there is no absolute number. Why not go on a field trip every day if that's how the curriculum at your school conveys knowledge. The more important ingredient is how these filed trips are structured and connected to the content being conveyed. And also how well they're staffed to actually yaccomplish that. Also important is whether learning like that at Kindergarten level is a good fit for one's child. For some children, field trips are stressful and not conducive to actually thinking things through. For others, probably those with high attention spans and ability to block out noise, they're a great way to learn in an exploratory or expeditionary manner.