5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Child's Fieldtrip

Here are five ideas for field trip success. Share ideas you have in the comments.

It is one of those familiar notes for Moms who have children on the spectrum: our kids love familiarity. They love doing things the same way. They love feeling secure that things will stay relatively the same.

Wait: isn’t this true of most of us?

We all love routine and regularity. We love going back to the same places year after year. James Taylor built his Summer Tours on this very premise. Some of us would come to hear him play over and over and over and it was very heartwarming to hear him play his familiar tunes mixed in with the occasional new ones.

We grew older together, James and his fans.

Friday Samuel and I went on a field trip with his class to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. It was a fantastic day for us with a couple quirky not-so-great moments tossed in for flavor.

I wasn’t surprised when the first place Samuel wanted to go was to check out the 4D movie we saw when we visited last Summer, the only other time we went to the Aquarium. This was something he and his sisters loved and still talked about in everyday life: a shared experience of a pleasant Summer day.

Samuel enjoys petting the Rays at Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific

I wasn’t so sure I wanted to see the film again and was pleased I didn’t have to choose right away.

We went on to visit other spaces in the Aquarium, some of which included looking at tiny eels in their tanks, seeing an enormous Japanese Spider Crab and an incredibly good time petting sting rays as they swam past us. Some of the sting rays would come right toward you as if they wanted to be petted.

It was impossible NOT to be delighted by them.

I found myself cooing to these underwater beings just like I did to my babies and my dogs and cat. They swooshed their fins like Alice swishes her tail.

Mostly, though, Samuel and I made wonderful memories.

1. Agree to return to at least one important exhibit from a past visit.
2. Try something brand new and perhaps out-of-the-box. (We visited a lighthouse at the end of the boardwalk and learned about The Pike, the one roller coaster my father ever rode! Since Samuel loves roller coasters, this was a great chance to connect him with his Grandpa.)
3. We walked down the boardwalk to investigate the light house Don’t overload. Give yourselves time to simply stand in front of the exhibit without talking. Give your child the chance to speak up about what he finds interesting.
4. On the way home, share up to three facts you learned he can remember. I was intrigued to learn, for example, 75% of penguin species are on the endangered list.
5. When the inevitable questions come from people, “What did you like best?” give your child space to answer. If he is on overload, fill-in-the-blanks just partially. “Samuel looked like he was having a blast petting the rays!” and “He took a video of the sharks being fed. What else did you video?”

A quick aside to people in the Southern California area: this aquarium experience was terrific. The staff was friendly and helpful. They seemed exceptionally happy to have us visit. It was much less crowded in April than in June, when we visited last time.

I suggest (if you have a choice) to come in any season other than Summer. My daughter who used to live in Long Beach mentioned special "Shark petting events" so if you are interested in that, you might want to check the aquarium directly.

Now, enjoy the next fieldtrip you attend.

Do you have any favorite field trip tips?