Field Trip Ideas

Garden Center

  • Visit a garden center or nursery. Discuss in advance the types of plants and tools you might see. Ask children who have visited such locations to talk about their experiences. Arrange in advance for a garden center employee to conduct a tour.
  • In preparation, record on chart paper colors of flowers to look for on the trip. Also record planting tools you may see. Bring the chart with you.
  • As you walk around the center, have children look for the colors and tools on the list. A garden center employee can demonstrate planting techniques as well as how soil, mulch, and trees are moved. Purchase a small plant or seedlings for the classroom. Ask about care requirements for the plant, recording the information for later. Take photos, if possible.
  • In the classroom, discuss the trip and the children's observations. Refer to the care instructions for your new plant and have children decide the best location for it. Arrange for children to help care for the plant.
  • As a follow-up, children can use flower catalogs and magazines to create their own catalog of favorite plants or plants and tools they saw on their trip.

Nature Walk

  • Take a nature walk in a city park, wooded area, or nature reserve. If possible, arrange for a guide. Take photos, if possible.
  • Before the trip, have children discuss changes that take place in nature in the spring—including plants and trees, birds, and other animals. Talk about where you are going and what the children may see there. Ask children to share previous experiences in such locations.
  • Provide each child with a clipboard and paper or small notebook, and bring along pencils and crayons. Bring magnifying glasses if you would like. Pause during the nature walk for children to draw what they see. Pay close attention to buds, sprouting plants, birds' nests, and so forth, as children look up and look down at the environment around them.
  • When you return to your classroom, ask children to share their drawings and talk about what they observed. Compare and discuss details in the children's drawings of similar objects. Ask children if anything they saw surprised them. Display the drawings or assemble them in a classroom book.