Field Trip Planner
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Conejo Valley Homeschoolers Field Trip Planning Guide IntroductionThis document describes how to plan and conduct a field trip for CVH. The rules and recommendations provided here are the result of years of experience coordinating field trips. There is a lot of information, however, none of it is superfluous. Please review it carefully. Doing so will ensure a successful event for the group, the venue and for you, the coordinator.
When you coordinate a CVH field trip, remember that you are representing CVH as well as the homeschool community. Following the recommendations in this guide will help to ensure that the field trip runs smoothly and that CVH will continue to be welcome at the venues we visit. Restrictions and RequirementsWhen planning a CVH field trip, please observe the following: Ø The field trip coordinator must be an active, dues paying member of CVH. Ø CVH field trips are only open to CVH member families. Ø Reflecting the fact that we are a secular group, we do not schedule field trips that are in any way religious in nature Ø We do field trips on Thursdays only (see below for exceptions). Ø We do not generally plan more than one field trip per day. Ø Please conduct yourself in a professional manner when dealing with members of CVH as well as any members of the public that you have dealings with on CVH's behalf. Communicating With Sandra KatzPlanning a field trip requires contact with Sandra Katz, coordinator of CVH. At a minimum, you must check the field trip date with Sandra to ensure there are no conflicts with other CVH activities.
Please contact Sandra at Park Day. Coordinating a Field TripThere are four stages to putting on a field trip:
1. The Planning Stage 2. Announcing the Trip 3. Collecting Sign-ups 4. Conducting the trip
Each of these stages is discussed in detail below. Stage 1: Planning The Field TripSelecting A DateIt is important that field trips do not conflict with other CVH events. You must check with Sandra Katz for date availability first, before you plan.
To avoid conflict with other CVH activities, such as Park Day and classes, we do field trips on Thursdays only. We do not plan events from Friday night through Sunday to avoid conflict for families that use these days for religious observance or other family occasions.
There may be occasional exceptions to the Thursday rule if an event only occurs on one particular day of the week.
We do not plan field trips during the summer or during CVH vacations.
We do not generally plan more than one field trip per day. Even if your field trip is for the youngest kids and we have a teen event planned for the same day, conflicts will arise for those families that have children who fall into different age groups. Our goal in planning events for CVH is to accommodate the greater good of the group by keeping our offerings from overlapping. Contacting the VenueOnce you have a date, you are ready to contact the people who will host the field trip (the vendor). The Vendor’s AttitudeMost people who contact vendors to set up events for children are representing schools: public, private or parochial. Many vendors have a set way of dealing with schools and their limitations of time, money, chaperones, behavior issues, etc. Letting them know that we are different may sometimes make them more flexible and available, but sometimes it makes no difference.
Some vendors are for-profit businesses that tend to be the most accommodating. Others are private parties who are doing you a favor by giving you a free tour during their work hours.
Never be demanding, pushy, rude or difficult with any vendor. They do not have to make themselves available to us at all. If they have a limitation that does not fit your idea of what CVH needs, then adjust your expectations or do not plan an event with that vendor. Do not expect the vendor to change his or her rules for us.
For example, many vendors may restrict the range of ages allowed to attend an event. You can try gently reasoning with them, but if they are firm, don't push it. You will usually have better luck getting them to accommodate older children than younger ones. Sometimes the vendor claims that an activity is only good for a certain age and doesn't think younger kids will understand or that older kids will pay attention. Try to politely point out that homeschoolers are different, but don't be surprised if they are resistant. If a vendor is very rigid about his/her rules they may not offer a very good event anyway. Gathering Information From the VendorIt is imperative that you get from the vendor all the information necessary to ensure a successful field trip. You may need to pin them down on some details. Many vendors are resistant to doing this. Let them know that you are not asking for yourself but for the 100 families in CVH who need complete information to determine whether the field trip is appropriate for them. The more information that you can get ahead of time, the easier your job will be.
You must collect the following information. You can use this list as a worksheet. q Name of vendor and title of field trip q Contact person’s name q Contact person’s phone q Contact person’s address
q
Itinerary: What will we be doing while we are there?
q
What we might want to study in advance (but don't count on anyone
in the group actually doing any preparation!).
q
What we need to bring with us in terms of supplies, if any.
q Arrival time and starting time (often the vendor requires the entire group to be present before beginning the activity). q Length of field trip q Are late arrivals or early departures a problem? q Do we have to divide the kids into groups? q Do we need to bring name tags (you can purchase them)? q Is event indoors or outdoors? q What is appropriate dress? q Weather considerations: heat, cold, rain, sunscreen needed?
q
What do they do in case of rain? Will they give us our money back
(if applicable)?
q
Cost: fee for adults, teens, kids, toddlers, babies (exact age
breakdowns needed) q Do they offer group discounts? q What are their deposit and payment deadlines? q Vendor’s sign-up deadline for the event. This is the date when you will notify the vendor of how many people are attending. This is also the date after which you will not issue refunds to families who decide to cancel. q What are their refund policies if we cancel or if they cancel?
q
What do they do if fewer people show up on the day?
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Directions and travel time
q Parking availability and cost q Upper and lower age limits, (why are these needed; the reasons may not apply to a homeschool group) q If young children can come: are strollers and/or backpacks ok? Can the children walk around or do they need to be in arms?
q
Any restrictions (minimum or maximum) on the number of
participants, number of parents, or number of toddlers (and if so, why are these
needed)?
q
What other programs and activities do they offer for future
reference? q Where can we go to have lunch in the area or at the site?
Stage 2: Announcing The Field Trip in the NewsletterIt is important for CVH families to be notified of field trip availability in a timely manner so they can plan and sign up in time.
Once all of the details of the trip have been established with the vendor, you must write up a detailed entry for the newsletter. The September newsletter covers all events planned for September through December. The December newsletter covers all field trips from January to June. The April newsletter includes a review of the April to June time period and any additional events that are planned.
The deadline for submission is one week before the newsletter comes out. Do not be late, the newsletter will not wait!
If you do not have access to e-mail, a typed or legibly printed hard-copy submission can be made.
Newsletter submissions will no longer be proofread. Please do your own checking. Check your submission for accuracy, complete sentences, spelling, proper grammar and syntax. Poor writing by homeschool parents does not reflect well on the homeschool community at large. Check your writing and then check it again. Check your facts and then check them again.
Your newsletter article must contain the following (see past newsletters for examples):
· Field trip title · date and time · Coordinator's name and phone number · Itinerary · Recommended study for participants · Supplies to bring · Arrival time · Start time · Anticipated end time · Indoor or outdoor event · Appropriate dress · What to do if it rains (if appropriate) · Cost (by age, if appropriate) · Instructions for payment (check only, payable to the coordinator) · Directions · Travel time (if appropriate) · Parking availability and cost · Minimum and maximum ages · Minimum and maximum number of participants · Lunch plans · Sign-up deadline · Sign-up deposit (for free events - see below) Stage 3: Collecting Sign-upsSign-Up SheetGinny Grady is the CVH field trip sign up coordinator. Ginny maintains a field trip sign-up book that lists all field trips. Each field trip in the book has a sign-up sheet and a pocket for holding sign-up payments. The field trip information in the book is taken from the newsletter.
The sign-up sheet must be ready by the first park day after the newsletter comes out. You must check the field trip sign-up book to make sure that all information for the trip is listed correctly. If corrections must be made, see Ginny or do it yourself. Make sure the sign-up sheet includes the following information:
· Coordinator's name and phone number · Field trip title and date · Cost (broken down by age) · Sign up deadline (if not specified by the vendor, this should be Tuesday a week ahead of the event) · Minimum and maximum number of participants.
Make sure that sign-up entries include:
· Family name · Names and ages of participants · Names of any other children in the family that are being brought along · Home phone · Cellular phone. The cellular phone number is very important for the day of the field trip if something comes up at the last minute and you have to contact parents in transit.
Sign-Up PaymentsField trip fees must be paid at the time of sign-up. Sign-ups are not to be taken without fee payment! Do not make exceptions to this rule, otherwise you will be tracking people down the day of the field trip who signed up and never paid.
All payments must be by check only, made payable to the coordinator of the event. Cash cannot be accepted as it makes it too difficult to track who has paid.
If the field trip does not require a fee, you should require a sign-up deposit of $10 per family, payable by check made out to you. This deposit is refunded to the family when they actually show up at the event, or if they cancel before the sign-up deadline. If they do not show up, the deposit is forfeited and is put into the CVH bank account. Too often, the no-show rate at free events can top 50%. By assessing a deposit, you cut that number dramatically. People generally give more importance to things that they pay for. Poor attendance reflects very badly on CVH and on homeschoolers in general. The homeschool community has a well-deserved reputation for flakiness which CVH has worked hard to overcome. If there are many no-shows, as the coordinator, it will be up to you to explain to the vendor why they have gone to the effort to plan for a group of 50 when only 25 showed up. Waiting ListsYou must maintain a waiting list (in the sign-up book) for any field trip that takes a limited number of attendees. Monitoring Sign-UpsYou must periodically check your sign-up sheet to make sure that people are signing up properly. This includes verifying that everyone on the list is of the correct age for the event (check the roster for birthdays, as people often fudge birthdays), and making sure checks are for the correct amount, made out to you and signed. Make sure that checks and people match. Also, make sure every child signed up will be accompanied by an adult. Do not allow children to attend without a chaperone.
There has never been a CVH field trip where everyone signed up and paid correctly. Don't wait until the week of the field trip to discover mistakes.
If your field trip is not filling up enough or the sign-up deadline is approaching, put a notice on the whiteboards at Park Day and make an announcement during group announcements to drum up interest. Refund PolicyRefunds are given up until the sign-up deadline for a field trip. After the deadline has passed, refunds are only given if there is someone on the waiting list that can take the spot. If there is no one to take the spot, the money is to be deposited to the CVH bank account.
The reason for this policy is to discourage cancellations. When CVH shows up at a field trip with fewer people than we promised to bring, it reflects poorly on the group as well as on the entire homeschooling community.
Refunds are always given if the field trip is cancelled.
CVH does not usually cancel field trips once they are planned. Past field trips that have been cancelled were done so at the request of the vendor or due to bad weather. Touching Base With the VendorContact the vendor at least once during the sign-up period to let them know that we are coming and that people are signing up.
Contact the vendor again once the sign-up deadline has passed and let them know the final sign-up number so they can plan accordingly.
Ask the vendor what you should do if your numbers change between the sign-up deadline and the field trip date. Offer to pay them for the sign-up number regardless of the number that actually attend. Ask if they want a call if fewer people are actually coming.
The vendor may tell you that you don't have to pay for people that don't come. Even if this happens, do not refund money to families that have cancelled; they cancelled after the sign-up deadline and the refund policy applies for the reasons outlined above.
In some cases it may be appropriate to ask if it is okay if additional people come at the last minute and how many more they can accommodate. Depositing PaymentsDo not deposit checks until the field trip occurs (unless you need to pay a deposit to the vendor). If the field trip is cancelled it will save you the trouble of writing checks to pay everyone back.
On the other hand, if you collect more money than you need to cover the expense of the field trip, it is your responsibility to either return the excess to the participants (if the sum is great enough) or donate it to CVH. You are not entitled to benefit financially in any way from planning a field trip for the group. Reprinted (from the newsletter) is the CVH Monetary Policy:
CVH is a non-profit group. That means that we do not make a profit. It also means that no one profits personally in any way at the expense of the group. You are entitled to be paid for supplies or materials that you purchase for the group but you are not entitled to, nor should you accept, any perks or freebies as a reward for your volunteer work for CVH. On a practical level this means that if you coordinate a field trip or class or other program and you collect more money than you need, you have the option of dividing it up and returning it to the families involved or donating it to CVH. If there are free admissions or other incentives offered to the planner, that discount should be applied to the participants or given to CVH.
The Last Park Day Before the Field TripRemove the sign-up sheet from the field trip sign-up book at the last park day before your event and take it home with you. You will need it for any last minute changes and as a record of who to expect at the venue. Stage 4: Field Trip DayLast Minute CancellationsInevitably, someone will have to cancel the night before or the morning of an event. Expect late night and early morning phone calls from people. You can then call people on the waiting list and see if they want to go. Remember, if people ask you, you cannot refund them their money. Refer them to the refund policy in their newsletter. Arrive EarlyYou must be the first one to arrive at the event and the last one to leave. You are the liaison between CVH and the vendor as well as the authority figure for CVH families attending the trip. Any issues that come up with attendees or the vendor are your responsibility to solve. Make yourself visible. Do not be a shrinking violet! Take charge and make sure the day goes smoothly for all. Sign-Up SheetBring the sign-up sheet from the field trip book to the field trip (you should have taken it home on the last park day before the trip). You can keep track of who has arrived, who you are waiting for, etc. In addition, you have children's names and ages at your fingertips (useful for dividing kids into groups) and phone numbers to call wayward families and find out where they are. Be In ChargeLet the vendor know when you arrive and when your group is assembled and ready to begin. If appropriate, have families sign in with you as they arrive.
For your information, the following are CVH guidelines that are posted in the newsletter and apply to all field trips:
All children who join us in any of our group activities must be chaperoned by an adult who is responsible for the children under her/his care. Any family that leaves a child without supervision at any of our events may be asked to leave the group.
We will not tolerate any threatening behavior by any member of the group and we will not tolerate weapons of any kind being brought to any of our events. Anyone doing either will be asked to leave the group.
While parents are responsible for their children's behavior, sometimes they do not do their job. According to our guidelines, if children are not participating in a field trip, parents are required to remove them from the event so that they do not distract others. Inattentive children can be very disruptive to the vendor, to the other participants, etc. If the parent does not act to supervise her child, you must step in and point out to the parent that her child is disrupting the event for others. If she cannot control her child, you must ask her to take him/her away from the group. CameraBring a camera or check with the Yearbook editor (Annette Trisler for 2003/2004) to see if there is a camera for you to use. You may ask another parent to take the pictures. Ten pictures is probably adequate for most field trips. Pictures will be included in the yearbook and it is a nice way for attending families to remember the day. MediaPlease be aware that CVH does not allow media of any kind to cover our events. This is to guarantee the privacy of all participants. If media do show up at our events, invited or otherwise, they will ALWAYS be asked to leave. Please be aware of this guideline and help to implement it as necessary. Thank You NoteBring a thank you note or a big card that the children can sign, if appropriate. Give it to the vendor at the end of the field trip. The only time that you would not bring a thank you note is if it is a for-profit company. Sometimes, a card is appropriate even for a business. Everyone appreciates a thank you note and will be more welcoming to CVH as well as other homeschool groups in the future. Have FunMost importantly, have a wonderful time at your field trip and know that you have provided a great opportunity for many other families. Thank you! |