If you're already thinking about fieldtrips for your homeschool group of 20+ kids, or if you didn't know you SHOULD be, here are some tips shared by a seasoned homeschool mom to make sure your kids get that experience you're wanting:
Any venue that allows you to make adjustments on group size and that will adjust your payment is always a better choice. Be sure to ask if they will do this, not all venues will mention it in their initial planning with you, but many are willing to adjust if needed.
Large homeschool groups are competing with school groups for certain venues, such as matinees for plays. If you have something that is a must for anytime January and later, be sure to get that planned and on the calendar by early fall before the schools fill all the available spots.
Almost always, you will get a better rate if you can get enough people for a group rate. Homeschool prices are nice, but the group rates usually blow those prices out of the water.
Be sure to have people sign up and pay in advance. Be careful, or you might get stuck with part or all of the cost if you don't do this. A simple way to do this is to create a Google Doc. Here's a free template you can copy and edit to get you started.
Also, be sure you have at least a 75% committal rate before booking.
Schedule your fieldtrips somewhere in the window of 2 weeks to 2 months in advance
Have only one point of contact, don't overwhelm the vendor. (We once confused a theater because of a white-out in the middle of January and got mixed messages about whether the event was going to happen or not.)
Blacklisting - bad experiences with homeschoolers means they won't allow them in the future. Remind your group to encourage and expect good etiquette. Homeschoolers are a wonderful group, we want our vendors to know it!
And, just speaking from personal experience - Thanksgiving Point is a wonderful place to go. But be sure to do it in advance and expect problems.
If you have social kids and/or if you are social, guaranteed you'll want to create or join a group fieldtrip sometime in your homeschooling journey. We hope these tips help you! And for those who are experienced in their own right, comment below with other tips you can offer.
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