How to Make Repeat Field Trips Interesting
I earn a commission from products purchased through links in this post.
Over my family’s many years of homeschooling, we have gone on a ton of great field trips. I love including field trips whenever possible because they are a great way to make a subject come alive. Repeat field trips can be a great thing! They are a fun way to dive deeper into a familiar topic.
One of my family’s favorite field trips has always been Colonial Williamsburg. It was the very first field trip we went on when we began homeschooling and we return as frequently as possible. In the last 13 years, we have been there 7 times! My teens have such fond memories of our visits to the Revolutionary City that they even requested we go there for our summer vacation this year.
We just returned from our trip to historic Williamsburg yesterday, so I thought I would share a few tips on how we have kept this field trip spot interesting after so many visits.
How to Make Repeat Field Trips Interesting
Follow Their Interests
Interests naturally change as kids grow up, so if we follow their interests then we will automatically learn new information on repeat field trips.
Most of the exhibits in Colonial Williamsburg don’t change, but we have noticed different things on every single visit. My kids’ interests have led them to ask new questions in exhibits they have seen many many times.
This spring my son has been very interested in gardening. He has researched proper growing conditions for a few plants that he has carefully tended. When we were in Colonial Williamsburg we visited many of the gardens with a renewed interest. We talked to the gardener. We used Google Lens to identify a variety of flowers and crops. We talked to the apothecary about which plants grown locally would have been used medicinally. We have walked through the gardens on previous trips but never paid quite as much attention to what was growing and why that plant was selected until this visit.
Related Post: Colonial Williamsburg Homeschool Days Tips
Add Something New
There is almost always something new to see, even if we have visited a field trip spot a dozen times. In a museum, maybe we can check out a new exhibit or piece of art. At the zoo, maybe we can watch an animal feeding or sign up for a guided tour.
On our most recent visit to Colonial Williamsburg, I let my teens choose something new to explore. They both wanted to do the official ghost tour. We have gone on several ghost walks through Williamsburg, but this time we were able to go inside three of the buildings – the Peyton Randolph house, the Wythe house, and the Geddy house. In each home, we heard ghost stories about the people who lived in the homes during the height of Colonial Williamsburg. The stories were not really scary but were interesting and gave us a new look at life in Colonial times. We have visited the homes during the day, but touring them at night, with only candles for light was a new experience. Knowing that homes were dark at night before electricity is one thing. Experiencing it is something else.
My family all agreed that this was our favorite part of the vacation.
See Old Favorites
One of the great things about repeat field trips is that you can visit your favorite locations and exhibits. These spots might be interesting with lots to see, or maybe they are just a place that makes everyone happy.
One of the spots we always visit in Colonial Williamsburg is the apothecary. There is so much to see! The shelves are lined with beautiful pottery that would have held medicinal ingredients. They are labeled in Latin and we always try our best to decipher the contents and guess how they would have been used. It is a calm and orderly space that my family never tires of.
If Staying Overnight, Consider Changing the Accommodations
Unless you are positive that you already have the best accommodations for your family, consider switching it up. Over our 7 field trips to Colonial Williamsburg, we have stayed in 5 different hotels. We had grown fond of a hotel just a few miles away that offered two-bedroom suites but we wanted to stay within the colonial area on this trip.
We decided to rent one of the Colonial houses and are so happy we did! We stayed in the Lewis House, a reconstructed home near the center of town. Thankfully it was rebuilt with modern conveniences, like indoor plumbing. The home had three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, a small kitchen area, and a backyard. We really liked having the space to spread out a bit.
We were less than 0.5 miles away from all of the exhibits and restaurants. The close proximity let us come and go as we pleased. When it started raining we just walked back to our home. Being within the Colonial area the entire time also let my teens have more independence than if we were staying off-site. They were able to take a key and walk around until they found something they wanted to check out. We always met up at meal times and talked about what we had seen. If we all wanted to check out an exhibit, like the apothecary or the Governor’s Palace, we went together.
Return field trips are special because they are often to a place that your family enjoys.
Keep reading . . .