A field trip! One of the best features of homeschooling is to incorporate field trips into just about any lesson plan. The easiest is, of course, history! It’s all around us and it doesn’t take much to find a fascinating site nearby.
For this last week, we took a field trip to the Battleship Mikasa in Yokosuka Japan! The Mikasa was Admiral Togo’s flagship in the Battle of Tsushima Strait, an epic sea battle of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) where Japan thoroughly dominated a Russian fleet.
Admiral Togo remains one of the most influential figures in Naval Warfare, not only due to his victories in the Russo-Japanese war, but also because of his heavy influence on another Japanese Admiral, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto! Students of maritime warfare will tell you that Admiral Yamamoto’s attack on Pearl Harbor was heavily influenced by his study of Admiral Togo’s attack on Russia’s Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese war.
Conducting an effective field trip
Taking a field trip is the easy part! You find a subject that is interesting to you and the kids and you… go there. Not too hard!
But getting the most out of your field trip, so that it is actually educational and they learn something is a bit more challenging.
You have to choose a topic they actually care about, a place that is fun and engaging. And you have to give them goals and objectives, or help them develop there own, so that they are actually getting an education instead of just a fun day.
Don’t misunderstand me! Play is learning, and the best learning is play! You don’t always have to make them write a report, or complete a scavenger hunt, or deliver a presentation when it is all over. Let them have fun! But weave learning into their play time, ask them questions before the field trip to spark curiosity and gently guide their learning. Hold a discussion on the way home to talk about what you, and they learned. Ask them what sparked their interest the most and what next they want to learn!
