Field Trip Journals by Laena West

The February slump of the homeschool year hits hard sometimes! This is one of those years for me! Anyone else?? 🙋🏼‍♀️😅
So what do YOU do when it hits? I am relying on tried and true strategies to get through it. 💪🗺 🙏
What are those strategies?
Well, I like to fill February with an extra dose of Field Trips, we'll be taking a total of 11 this month... 11 opportunities to explore our community, for me to model a life long love of learning, to explore museums of my kiddos choice, to get out of the house despite the weather, all academic wins that keep us moving forward!!
🙌💕
The second strategy to get through the winter slump is to attend homeschool conferences!!
Remembering the why behind our homeschool journey, meeting fellow homeschoolers, finding new resources, being INSPIRED!! 😍
I am so excited to be speaking this Saturday at the conference!! I love being able to share about my homeschool experience and to pass on a dose of INSPIRATION! 💕
If you're in the San Diego area, plan on joining me!! Come and say Hi! 👋
Be inspired and beat the winter homeschool slump! 💪If you're considering homeschooling, come learn all about it! 📚
Hope to see you there!!

📚🌿 Embracing the Power of Field Trips in Homeschooling! 🌟

🏠 Homeschooling has been an incredible journey for my family, and one aspect that has truly made a difference is the power of field trips and shared experiences! 🎒🚌

🐾 Whether it's spending an afternoon at the zoo, exploring museums, or hiking through nature preserves, field trips have opened up a world of learning opportunities for my kids beyond the traditional classroom. 🌎💡

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 These experiences not only help us meet academic goals but also nurture our family culture, creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime. 🥰📸

🗒️ Inspired by the impact of these adventures, I created a line of Field Trip Journals to document our excursions and encourage other homeschool families to prioritize experiences in their educational journey. My Field Trip Journals are filled with fun, engaging prompts that kids love to use. Creating a learning record of your Field Trips and a keepsake of your year has never been easier! 📔✨

🌟 Join me in embracing the power of field trips! Foster a love for learning that goes beyond books and create shared experiences with your kids! 🚀💕

🔗 Read more about the lasting impact and power of Field Trips in homeschooling in my latest blog post (link in bio). Let's make learning an unforgettable adventure for our kids! 🌈📚



https://www.sandiegocoastalexplorers.com/

One of my homeschool goals is to teach my kids to be all in. Look around, observe, learn about local history, local floral and fauna, be ALL IN, wherever they live.
This new Unit Study gives you an ALL IN look at the stunning Jacaranda tree.
💜💜💜
Included in the Unit Study:
History ✔
Geography ✔
Botany ✔
Hands on Activities ✔
Book list ✔
Writing Poetry ✔
25 page PDF ✔
Approx Grade level 1-5 ✔
Beautiful Images ✔
Fun ✔
Get out and explore where you live, be all in!
💜💜💜
https://www.sandiegocoastalexplorers.com/shop-journals-1

San Diego area homeschoolers,
come visit me at the
LEAP Homeschool Conference San Diego
🥳📚💕
Nothing beats the Winter slump like a Motivating Homeschool Conference!! Come get inspired and RECHARGED!!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love this time of year, it's such a time of freshness, renewal, and reflection. 🌠
The reflection allows me to see what is working in our homeschool and what isn't.
The freshness and renewal provides just the right oomph to prioritize my to do list more accurately with what IS working 📑
Top of my to do list is making MORE Field Trips happen!
Museum ✔
Zoo ✔
Nature Center ✔
Symphony ✔
Writing Field Trips on the calendar helps me keep them as a priority AND provides anticipation for my kiddos 📅
Oh! And don't forget to get your Field Trip Journals on Amazon and turn your Field Trips into a complete academic experience while creating a keepsake of your adventures 🧭🗺

Field trips are even more fun with friends! Incorporating a Field Trip Co-op into our homeschool has been one of the best choices we've ever made. 📚
Exploring our communities together, building relationships upon shared experiences and having tons of FUN have been the major perks. 🗺🧭
Looking back at my kid's Field Trip Journals is a chance to remember all of those adventures and see the academic and emotional growth of my kids - total homeschool mom payday 🙌🥳💕
Do you belong to a Co-op? Do you take Field Trips with other homeschooling families?
Tag your fellow Field Trip taking friends! ☺

While sitting at a homeschooling event recently I fell into a conversation about California History Curriculum. Each mom sharing her find and every other mom questioning their own, you know how it goes.
I asked which field trips they were planning on taking and they each planned on taking one or two 😳
Soapbox activated 📣
Giving our children the opportunity to experience history in-person on field trips leaves a bigger impression/memory then any shiny new curriculum. 💥
Do what has guaranteed results. Make field trips a priority!
Get out and explore your community. Look up your local history. Stand where history has occured. Let you kids explore and fall in love with learning about history 🗺🧭📚
And don't limit yourself to one or two field trips. How about once a week or twice a month? Do what has guaranteed results 🙌 Have FUN with your kids! Soapbox deactivated 😅

Had such a great time at a local Homeschool Gameschooling Expo put on by 🥳🎯♟📚

Had the chance to hang out with homeschool mom friends and talk about my FAVORITE homeschool topic; FIELD TRIPS!
Check out their GREAT podcast, Homeschool Your Way, and get INSPIRED to add a little adventure to your homeschool!
🧭🗺 💕

🎙️Click the link below to listen!🎙️
https://spoti.fi/2UAinyi

Shared Experiences and Community 💕

As my homeschool community co-op gets ready to start another great year of adventure, I have been taking a trip down memory lane. Reminiscing about our past adventures and the wonderful memories we have made 💕🌊
These kiddos, some of them high schoolers now have built solid friendships, learned so much with really amazing field trips, and have memories that will last a lifetime. Homeschool win!!

I *think* we can all agree that Community makes ALL of the difference in our homeschool experiences! I know that I have had times in my homeschool journey that community has come easily and then times that I had to work really hard to create it. Through both of those examples I have learned that having shared experiences WITH a group creates solid community VERY quickly. A shared experience creates instant commonality, and friendships flourish with that commonality!
Field trips are GREAT friend/community makers!!

As you probably know, I believe Experiences/Field Trips to be the icing on the cake that is home education!! 🧁 It is, after all, WHY I created my line of the popular Field Trip Journals. (Link in bio😉)

In my new book, Survival Schooing, I talk about the importance of Shared Experiences helping us weather the difficult seasons of homeschool life. I really want to encourage you that if you are in need of a homeschool community that there ARE other families that are looking for one too!! Start a group! Have shared experiences, explore, pack a lunch and visit afterwards!! Build the community you and your kiddos need!!
You've got this!!