Plus: free fall bingo printable!
It’s back-to-school time! Fall is quickly approaching. The leaves will soon begin to transition to vibrant reds and oranges and the air will become more crisp and refreshing. It’s the perfect time to get the kids outside! Now is the time to get all the fun fall field trips on your calendar. Field trips offer a great opportunity to get out of the house and explore on the beautiful fall days. It can be especially helpful for students who need a break from their new homeschool routine. To help you plan your fall field trips we have compiled a list of field trip suggestions as well as specific locations that you can find in the HomeschoolHQ app.
Pumpkin Patches
Pumpkin patches are the quintessential fall homeschool field trip! There is so much to learn including plant life cycles, math skills, the history of pumpkins, and more. We went on a group field trip to a farm a few years ago for their plant life cycle class and pumpkin patch. The kids enjoyed playing on the farm’s many play structures, picking out pumpkins, and learning about how pumpkins grow.
Activity ideas: Engage your children in math by weighing pumpkins, measuring circumference, or counting seeds later on! Discuss the life cycle of a pumpkin from seed to harvest. Make observations and hypothesize about which part of the cycle the pumpkin is in. Estimate how many pumpkins are in the patch. Guess how many seeds were planted and how many pumpkins grew.
Field trips in HomeschoolHQ:
- Gaver Farm, Mount Airy, MD
- Lucky Ladd Farms, Eagleville, TN
Apple Orchard
Our family is taking a fall field trip to an apple orchard this week! We love visiting an apple orchard and picking delicious apples to use in recipes at home. Our favorites are apple sauce and apple butter. There are many educational aspects to explore at an apple orchard, such as agriculture, botany, pollination, and apple varieties.
Activity ideas: Grab a basket and make precious memories of apple picking with your kiddos! Try cooking lessons using your apples at home. Discuss apple origins and their lifestyle. Remember to have your kids ask the farmer questions if they are available!
Field trips in HomeschoolHQ:
- Weston Red Barn Farm, Weston, MO
- Jones Orchard, Millington, TN
- Morning Glory Orchard, Nolensville, TN
Nature Reserves and Hiking Trails
Autumn is the perfect time to visit a nature reserve and hike a trail in the changing leaves and fresh air! We have an incredible Wilderness Station in our area that we visit often. It has classes throughout the week that teach about wildlife and outdoor skills. We attend a monthly nature-based homeschool science class there that our kids love! Many areas have something like this. Check with your nearest state or national park to see if they offer classes like these. List them in the HomeschoolHQ app so more families can find them too!
Activity ideas: Give nature journaling a try by observing the changing flora and fauna. Bring along a nature handbook to study the leaves on your hike. You can even add a leaf rubbing to your nature journal. We also love creating nature looms on our hikes. Bring along some string and a pair of small scissors. Gather small sticks to create a 3 or 4 stick loom. Use the string to hold the sticks in a triangle or square shape and then crisscross them along the loom. Then add items like leaves, flowers, pinecones, etc as you find them. You’ll end up with a beautiful creation to take home!
Field trips in HomeschoolHQ:
- Wilderness Station, Murfreesboro, TN
- Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, NC
- Minglewood Farm and Nature Preserve, Westfield, NC
Homeschool Days
Our family loves homeschool days! They allow us to explore educationally at many different field trip venues, often at a reduced rate. Our favorite homeschool day so far has been at a local camp where we got to try a sampling of their summer camp activities. It was a fun day for the whole family! Homeschool days are offered at many different places including museums, historic sites, farms, camps, parks, and more.
Homeschool Days in HomeschoolHQ:
- Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
- Nashville Children’s Theater, Nashville, TN
- US Marine Corps Museum, Triangle, VA
Field trips offer an enriching break from routine while providing children with invaluable real-world lessons. Locate a field trip like the ones listed above, and many more on the HomeschoolHQ app! Don’t forget to add your favorites so other families can explore them too. So pack a snack, grab a notebook, and head out on an autumn adventure that will spark curiosity and deepen your child’s understanding of the world around them!
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