1

A Homeschooler’s Guideto Virtual Field Trips

2

Mike Pfannenstiel founded FIeldTripZoom to make the world a smarter, happier, place. He connects homeschoolers and school

districts with immersive, high-quality field trips that enrich experience-based education and bring joy to the classroom.

About The Author

Your Free TrialIf you signed up on the download page, you should receive an

email within a few days with your obligation-free 2 WEEK TRIAL of FieldTripZoom!

If you do not receive this email, or if you’ve received this guide from a friend or colleague, just email info@fieldtripzoom.com,

with the subject line: Homeschooler Trial Request, to receive your risk-free trial! This includes access to upcoming events, and full

access to all recorded ones!

3

The average student spends almost 14,000 hours in school, only to say they can’t remember the Spanish they studied for years. Meanwhile, the kids who go to the Bodies exhibit will remember it forever. Who knew nerves were thick as pencils?

But what if you’re a homeschooler?

You’re armed with Montessori, Waldorf, and Enki. Your kid’s 14,000 hours are twice as educational and fulfilling as anything in school. But you don’t have a federally funded bus ready to ship your kid hours away and back, even though you, of all people, know exactly how important that experiential education is.

Maybe you should follow thousands of home schoolers across the nation, and try a virtual field trip!

A Homeschooler’s Guideto Virtual Field Trips

4

Virtual field trips are a way to immerse your kids in the topics they’re interested in by providing them access to great exhibits and professionals.

Virtual field trips are different from most e-learning tools because they’re streamed live and, in many cases, offer two-way communication between the exhibitor and the audience. That means learners can ask questions and make requests while on tour through an exhibit or during a lesson.

What Is a Virtual Field Trip?

Does your kid want to learn about rockets? They can chat with someone at Spaceport America.

Are they into butterflies? They can attend a lesson by Butterfly World.

5

What are the Benefits of a Virtual Field Trip?

Expert Access - Homeschoolers often discover that their kids will become very advanced in some

subjects, sometimes outpacing what we can teach ourselves! Connecting

them with an expert is a good way to nurture these sophisticated interests.

Don’t know what the Oberth Effect is? That’s okay, because someone at

NASA does!

Feedback - Homeschoolers often juggle the role of parent with the role

of educator. Sometimes, that means learning whether a lesson works for

your kid is harder than you think. (“Do they like this lesson, or are

they just saying that because I can ground them?”)

Asking for your kid’s feedback on

a lesson is a great way to get an unbiased answer on what works for

them as students.

Flexible Function - Virtual field trips can be interest-driven romps through

an exhibit, or structured lessons provided by field experts. That

means that whether you’re trying to give your kid a break or intensify

their training, virtual field trips are always a good choice.

6

The first thing you should decide when planning a field trip is your goal. If you’re using the field trip as a reward, or as a break, then consider letting your kid choose the subject they want to study. Choose an event that features two-way communication to feature maximum interest-based learning.

Anything in the “Zone” calendar should be good for this case.

Alternatively, you can use experts to shore up your set curriculum by choosing a classroom session. These are sessions, hosted by an exhibitor, designed to teach specific concepts. Communication in classes revolves around acquiring - and solidifying - specific knowledge.

For this, you’ll want to check out the “Class” calendar.

Taking a Break or Buckling Up?1

7

FieldTripZoom offers many programs for ages 8 to 15, but there are programs for every age and grade. All the programs offered on FieldTripZoom are mapped to USA Common Core standards, which helps you determine how much your learner is expected to know before attending. However, as a homeschooler, you can use these benchmarks to introduce concepts in an accelerated - or more leisurely - pace, as you see fit!

YOU MAKE THE RULES - Sometimes, homeschooled learners surpass their peers in school. Consider introducing field trips for higher “grade levels” and see how your learner responds!

Live education, complete with the ability to talk to exhibitors, is a great educational opportunity. If you want to provide your learner access to these features, make sure that you sign up for an exhibit on the Zone or Class calendar in advance. These programs are limited to give everyone a chance of talking with the exhibitor, so make sure you plan accordingly!

Sometimes, though, an exhibit speaks for itself, or maybe you have your own curriculum to add. In these cases, FieldTripZoom offers a huge library of recordings that you can pause and rewind, allowing you to use them at any time you want!

Field Trip Duration - Make sure you check the duration of your virtual field trip! Some are longer than others, so choose one that works for your schedule!

2

3

Choosing the Level

Choosing the Right Time

8

Go Abroad - Virtual field trips can take you far. Real far! Set up trips and encourage your learner to investigate events that take place overseas. This is a great way to introduce them to other cultures, even at a young age!

Incentivize - Field trips are a great way to break the routine. Use field trips - and choice of field trips - as an incentive for completing your curriculum, or even in exchange for chores!

Make Tests - All FieldTripZoom programs are recorded. That means they can be used reliably for subject tests, or referred to when integrated into your own curriculum.

Career Exploration - How are kids supposed to know what they want to do if they don’t meet people like themselves? The people who host FieldTripZoom programs often have interesting careers, and can talk a lot about what their work is like!

Collaborate - If your organize learning with other homeschoolers, working together to select the same field trips can give your learners something to talk about, and a way to learn together.

TIPS - Making the Mostof Your Field Trip

9

If you’ve made the decision to homeschool your children, it means you’ve made a commitment to their education that few people can match. Your one-on-one attention, holistic approach, and total dedication are sure to pave the way to their future success!

FieldTripZoom is proud to support educators like you. That’s why we offer all homeschoolers a free two-week trial with no obligations. If you haven’t signed up to receive your trial, or if you want to share it with a friend, visit: http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/homeschool/ to get your code!

We hope you find FIeldTripZoom useful for enriching your learner’s education, and even if you don’t, wish you all the best in your unique homeschooling journey!

-Mike Pfannenstiel

Supporting YourHome School

10

THANK YOU!