Children love them and yes teachers love them too! There’s the build up of excitement, something different and unusual to look forward to and a day out away from the school premises. We’re talking School TRIPS!!
So we all know the benefits for children and why we carefully plan these outings but no matter what, there are always unexpected twists and turns that happen during the expedition that take you by surprise. To prepare you for these special days we’ve put together a Do’s & Don’ts list that will make it all run that little bit smoother. Here goes….
DO’S
- Bring extra food… surprisingly there will be someone who will forget their packed lunch.
- Get a really good night’s sleep the day before to prepare yourself for 30 children in hyper excitement mode.
- Bring spare pants…. sorry to tell you but the chance of there being an accident is quite high (again we couldput this down to extreme excitement!)
- Check, double check and triple check all the plans, paperwork, registers, first aid kit, parent contact forms,tickets/entrance forms…. oh and the kitchen sink!
- Plan fun games to do on the journey. Even a short trip will go faster when they are enjoying themselves. AndI hate to say the dreaded T word (shhhh traffic jams!) but it’s best to be prepared for the worst. Mum In The Mad House has some brilliant free printables including Travel Bingo, Count the Vehicles, Car Model Wordsearch & more.
DON’TS
- Think that the bus driver will be childfriendly and accommodating to poor Billy who feels sick after 30-seconds on the bus, and 30 chatterboxes (there and back!).
- Assume YOU will have a nice relaxing day out looking at animals or appreciating the great outdoors (Youcould do, but this is not a day off I’m afraid).
- Forget to send parents ANOTHER reminder the day before (yes parents are busy and they might forget sothey’d appreciate a reminder even if it is the 10th time you’ve told them).
- Expect children to just enjoy the nature/culture/animals etc PLAN activities for them to do (and have extraones in case they complete them very quickly). How about bug colouring, matching leaves to colour charts,bark rubbings or spot as many animals as you can that begin with a different letter of the alphabet.
- Presume parent helpers will help! They might need some gentle pointers to let them know they are there tohelp out not just for a free day trip.
And remember most of all… ENJOY IT!
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