25 Field trips, 625 participants!  How does one make this happen?

Tucked away in Moorpark, California is a homeschool mom on a mission.  To provide her 11 year old daughter with educational experiences that render valuable hands-on learning through a variety of events and educational field trips. Think a textbook or workbook can do this? But Cathy does not limit participation to her own family.  No, indeed not!  This school year alone, she will have organized over 25 events and field trips and extends the invitation to other local homeschoolers to attend. What motivates Cathy?  How does she accomplish this organizational feat?

Consider, the Channel Islands Marine Floating Lab where students receive hands-on, instructive and a tactile learning approach which introduces them to the rich marine environment.

     Homeschool families board the Channel Islands Marine Floating Lab.

    Students examine marine specimens

Or  how about a 1.5 hour cruise on Lake Cachuma where Park Naturalists guide students through the thriving habitat which is home to Bald Eagles?  Build your own model sail boat and investigate design and energy needed to move across a 40’ x 20’ pool at the Wallis Annenberg Building for Science Learning.  Opportunities for hands-on learning abound in our local communities for homeschoolers.  Are too many of us learning through texts, workbooks and the like when a world of learning is just outside the front door of our homes?

   Cathy's daughter examines how artifacts are re-assembled.

We caught up with Cathy to ask a few questions.

Please share your thoughts on the value of hands-on learning.

For my daughter, hands-on learning is essential. She is very tactile and needs to move so sitting at the dining room table to study science or history just is not going to happen. We do math and language arts at home and everything else through field trips and the conversation that happens before and after. She remembers and actively discusses things she learned on field trips when she was 5 so I know she is really learning and not just memorizing.

What motivates you to invest your time and energy in planning these endeavors?

I do it because learning is more fun in a group of friends.  Kids learn so much from each other. We meet so many new friends on field trips and become more connected to some, for us homeschooling is about community. Also, my daughter is learning leadership and organization skills by watching me and helping me organize.  Finally, There is the budget, field trip prices are lower than going on our own and we could not do as many activities if we were paying full price.

Where do you get your field trip and event ideas?

Lots of places. I started with a book called Fun and Educational Places to go with Kids and Adults in Southern California by Susan Peterson. From there I have found ideas in the newspaper and from hearing what other Homeschoolers are doing. Just talk to people, it's amazing the ideas that come forth.

When do you begin planning?

I am always planning, I keep list of ideas for next school-year as I go through the year.  I start organizing in the spring for the following school year because some field trips require you to apply that early.  The majority of my organizing and prep work happens in the early summer so I can begin posting in August.

How do you organize and manage over 25 field trips and events with a total of over 625 participants?

The only way I can do it is through the tools provided by HSsegue. Before HSsegue, I had to maintain separate email lists and a separate database for each trip. It was a nightmare to keep track of and I spent way too much time sending out payment reminders. After all I am a homeschooling Mom and juggling all the roles we all keep in the air at once. Field trip planning is not a full time paying job and I only need to spend just a couple of hours each week. With HSsegue, that is possible. Someone signs up for a trip and a payment reminder is sent without me doing anything. The tools HSsegue offers are what makes it possible, well that and great people signing up.

Nothing is more frustrating than organizing an event and having folks simply not show.  Worse yet, it’s poor public relations for the homeschooling community at large when an event is poorly attended and the host organizations has scheduled docents or teachers to lead the group.  How do you reduce “no-shows”, people who commit to come and simply do not show?

Most of my trips are with vendors that charge a fee and I cannot afford to pay out of my pocket for no-shows, so all my trips are paid for up front and I may collect them right on-line through HSsegue. My payment due date is usually a few weeks before the trip, this gives me time to find replacements for folks who changed their minds but forgot to tell me. There are often still some last minute cancels, people do get sick. HSsegue makes it easy to run a wait list so sometimes these spots get filled and the person gets their money back.

How did you manage participants prior to discovering HSsegue?

Field trip planning and organization used to take me a couple of hours each day. I could only manage two trips each month. I had email lists and spreadsheets and a big headache. Now I have a field trip each week and a couple during the summer.

Are there any additional thoughts you would like to share?

Just that field tripping has become a way of life for us. I am so grateful for the homeschool community for participating with us and for the folks that have made HSsegue possible so that my daughter and I can enjoy hands on, community learning every week. Oh, and I would love to see the greater homeschooling community grow and communication between groups increase. I think HSsegue provides a platform to help that happen.

Thank you Cathy for all you do for the local homeschooling community and for sharing.  Don't forget to add field trips to your schooling this year.  If you have a trip in mind- post and organize here on HSsegue.  We have all the tools that will make organizing your event a success.  No more spread sheets or back and forth emails and you can even collect and track payments to ensure attendance.

So what are you waiting for??  Let's get field tripping! Organize your field trip today on HSsegue.