I remember the confusion the museum person experienced trying to line up the kids in our homeschool group by age. They flatly refused, preferring to be grouped with friends and family members. It took almost half an hour to sort out because the museum person couldn't adjust - too used to school groups.
For a start, our kids never line up for anything. They'll filter through the door one at a time, they'll sit when asked. They don't need to be shepherded to do that.
And then there's the time a group of us went to the museum, about 4 families. Our kids were free to roam and talk and look at whatever they wanted, usually with one or two adults nearby, who'd help them with reading if needed, or simply chatting about the displays. It was quiet, orderly, a slow rambling around the rooms.
Then a group of school kids came in - noisy, moving quickly from exhibit to exhibit, clipboards and worksheets in hand. The object was to get the answers required as quickly as possible - kind of like a disorganised treasure hunt.
The contrast between the level of engagement with the museum was really obvious.
Many, many times I was asked by staff if I was a teacher, mostly because I'd be reading information to the kids, and a small group had gathered around me. I once had school kids come over and listen.
Thank you for sharing these experiences, which beautifully highlight the messages in the article. You reminded me that we had a similar experience when part of a home ed group visit to a local cathedral: There was a part of the day where the children were invited to sit and listen as the staff showed and explained some of the stained glass art work in the building. The children - ranging from toddlers to tweens - sat beautifully and listened, and the staff commented that school groups were never so attentive and engaged! I think it was because it was novel to them to do so and they were genuinely interested, rather than it being the most boring part (closest to what school children experience every day via classroom teaching) of an exciting "we're out of the school building" day!
YES! I have vague memories of a 5th grade trip to the zoo. I don't remember one animal or what we were supposed to learn, but I do remember getting mad at some boy who wouldn't leave me alone. 🤣 I love nothing more than visiting places with my daughter when there aren't 100s of people there. We always go at weird times. I always prep her by learning about the information before we go. And we take our time to absorb what's going on. At the marine lab on the coast, we stayed much longer than we had planned, but she was so immersed in the turtle sanctuary it felt like the right thing to do. Not adhering to a schedule.
Love that. It's a completely different world we inhabit isn't it, and resulting completely different, deep and immersive experiences our children gain from these places. Yes I know what you mean about remembering peer stuff that happens over actual learning... when I think about school trips I recall the excitement and banter on the coach more than anything! These are fun social experiences for sure, but I'm not sure that that is the school's main objective of providing them 🙃
I follow some online homeschool groups and Reddits. I keep seeing people post in homeschool groups about getting their homeschoolers prepared to reenter school. It is so bizarre to me. Like, how have these parents not processed that as a homeschooling family, you exist in a completely different realm? I don't understand.
Great article! I remember passing a school group while I was out with our unschooling family. You’ve perfectly captured the contrast. Museums continue to be wonderful family experiences for us, even though my kids are now teens and have chosen school.
💯 I also don’t remember very much from school trips in terms of learning, but I looked forward to them because it meant being out of the classroom and seeing some interesting things. As you said, more exposure than learning.
I wrote about this too as one of the truths that keep us motivated to home educate. Financial benefit of off peak travel and trips aside, it’s simply better for kids educationally. School trips are a bit of a token activity.
Absolutely, that summarises it well. As I said on another comment, I am aware schools try and link learning activities to it before and after, but in terms of the actual day there's a necessary restrictive element to school-organised trips, that families aren't constrained by. Glad this resonates with your experiences, and thank you for reading and commenting :-)
Thanks, Gem. This is something I've never thought about before. Even though our girls aren't homeschooled, I don't think they really get much value from school trips, whereas when we take them to museums and farms and art galleries (which we do every weekend), we stay for hours, and they seem to really enjoy the experience without rushing through it.
Perfect, and I bet they learn a lot because you're not squeezing things into a worksheet or trying to link to curriculum points. I think schools justify it by linking lots of other activities to it before and after, but in terms of the actual day there I agree that much probably won't go in due to the intensity of it. These relaxed experiences you are giving them are fantastic because they can absorb at a natural pace. Sounds like you have a wonderfully enriching home learning life alongside schooling, which will enhance their growth no end :-) Thanks as always for reading and commenting.
You're so welcome, Gem, thank you. I learned so much from your posts, and like I say, even though I don’t homeschool our girls, I try out loads of your activities with them, and they seem to really enjoy them. I'm definitely going to be treating our museum visits with a fresh pair of eyes again this weekend.
I remember the confusion the museum person experienced trying to line up the kids in our homeschool group by age. They flatly refused, preferring to be grouped with friends and family members. It took almost half an hour to sort out because the museum person couldn't adjust - too used to school groups.
For a start, our kids never line up for anything. They'll filter through the door one at a time, they'll sit when asked. They don't need to be shepherded to do that.
And then there's the time a group of us went to the museum, about 4 families. Our kids were free to roam and talk and look at whatever they wanted, usually with one or two adults nearby, who'd help them with reading if needed, or simply chatting about the displays. It was quiet, orderly, a slow rambling around the rooms.
Then a group of school kids came in - noisy, moving quickly from exhibit to exhibit, clipboards and worksheets in hand. The object was to get the answers required as quickly as possible - kind of like a disorganised treasure hunt.
The contrast between the level of engagement with the museum was really obvious.
Many, many times I was asked by staff if I was a teacher, mostly because I'd be reading information to the kids, and a small group had gathered around me. I once had school kids come over and listen.
Thank you for sharing these experiences, which beautifully highlight the messages in the article. You reminded me that we had a similar experience when part of a home ed group visit to a local cathedral: There was a part of the day where the children were invited to sit and listen as the staff showed and explained some of the stained glass art work in the building. The children - ranging from toddlers to tweens - sat beautifully and listened, and the staff commented that school groups were never so attentive and engaged! I think it was because it was novel to them to do so and they were genuinely interested, rather than it being the most boring part (closest to what school children experience every day via classroom teaching) of an exciting "we're out of the school building" day!
This makes so much sense. Annual passes rock! Then it's worthwhile going just to see one thing.
Absolutely 👍
YES! I have vague memories of a 5th grade trip to the zoo. I don't remember one animal or what we were supposed to learn, but I do remember getting mad at some boy who wouldn't leave me alone. 🤣 I love nothing more than visiting places with my daughter when there aren't 100s of people there. We always go at weird times. I always prep her by learning about the information before we go. And we take our time to absorb what's going on. At the marine lab on the coast, we stayed much longer than we had planned, but she was so immersed in the turtle sanctuary it felt like the right thing to do. Not adhering to a schedule.
Love that. It's a completely different world we inhabit isn't it, and resulting completely different, deep and immersive experiences our children gain from these places. Yes I know what you mean about remembering peer stuff that happens over actual learning... when I think about school trips I recall the excitement and banter on the coach more than anything! These are fun social experiences for sure, but I'm not sure that that is the school's main objective of providing them 🙃
I follow some online homeschool groups and Reddits. I keep seeing people post in homeschool groups about getting their homeschoolers prepared to reenter school. It is so bizarre to me. Like, how have these parents not processed that as a homeschooling family, you exist in a completely different realm? I don't understand.
Great article! I remember passing a school group while I was out with our unschooling family. You’ve perfectly captured the contrast. Museums continue to be wonderful family experiences for us, even though my kids are now teens and have chosen school.
Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing your experiences. Great to find I'm not alone with this type of reflection :-)
💯 I also don’t remember very much from school trips in terms of learning, but I looked forward to them because it meant being out of the classroom and seeing some interesting things. As you said, more exposure than learning.
I wrote about this too as one of the truths that keep us motivated to home educate. Financial benefit of off peak travel and trips aside, it’s simply better for kids educationally. School trips are a bit of a token activity.
Absolutely, that summarises it well. As I said on another comment, I am aware schools try and link learning activities to it before and after, but in terms of the actual day there's a necessary restrictive element to school-organised trips, that families aren't constrained by. Glad this resonates with your experiences, and thank you for reading and commenting :-)
Thanks, Gem. This is something I've never thought about before. Even though our girls aren't homeschooled, I don't think they really get much value from school trips, whereas when we take them to museums and farms and art galleries (which we do every weekend), we stay for hours, and they seem to really enjoy the experience without rushing through it.
Perfect, and I bet they learn a lot because you're not squeezing things into a worksheet or trying to link to curriculum points. I think schools justify it by linking lots of other activities to it before and after, but in terms of the actual day there I agree that much probably won't go in due to the intensity of it. These relaxed experiences you are giving them are fantastic because they can absorb at a natural pace. Sounds like you have a wonderfully enriching home learning life alongside schooling, which will enhance their growth no end :-) Thanks as always for reading and commenting.
You're so welcome, Gem, thank you. I learned so much from your posts, and like I say, even though I don’t homeschool our girls, I try out loads of your activities with them, and they seem to really enjoy them. I'm definitely going to be treating our museum visits with a fresh pair of eyes again this weekend.
Thanks so much for all that you do in this space.
That means such a lot, thank you Sam :-)