A great meal usually starts with an appetizer.
A great speech usually starts with an introductory story.
A great ocean voyage usually starts with a launch.
A great learning experience usually starts with an adventure!
During the last days of summer, once the crowds dwindle after traditional schools start, or over Labor Day weekend, a close-to-home adventure can get your students excited about discovering Texas.
- Like a tempting appetizer, it can whet their appetites to learn more.
- Like a great introductory story, it can reel them in and make them want to find out what happened next.
- And like an exciting launch party, it helps make the start of their journey something to remember.
Local field trips also help students embrace the concept that every family and every community has a history they can be proud of.
- History isn’t just one or two great events that happened “somewhere else.”
- History happened wherever you live…and it’s happening every day!
- There’s something to take interest in anywhere you are…if you know how to look for it.
So where should you start?
- Check out field trip suggestions in the blog archives over in the right sidebar. They’re arranged by region so you can easily find something close.
- Check out the Atlas of Texas Historic Sites on the Texas Historical Commission website. When you find one that look interesting, go see it!
- Visit a historic home or regional history museum near you.
- When tourists or visitors come to your area, what do they go see and do? Have YOU seen it yet? This weekend might be a great time to go!
Field trips don’t have to be elaborate or expensive.
Some of the best ones our family has taken began as a whim one Saturday morning, but we remember the trip–and what we learned–years later!
