10 reasons to take your students sightseeing

Kids love field trips. But parents, and even teachers, often think that it is just a tribute to fashion. Do we need educational trips? What are the benefits? What are the reasons for taking children on trips? Let's try to find out.

Subject knowledge
Some school subjects are simply inconceivable without field trips, which extend and deepen the knowledge that children acquire in regular lessons. Geography cannot exist without excursions into the streets of one's own town, without making a map of it, without studying the nearest geographical objects: a river, a hill, a ravine, a factory and others. Biology cannot exist without studying the flora and fauna of one's own locality. Many history lessons must take place in museums. Children can learn about astronomy in a planetarium. And the possibilities for carrying out educational excursions are very many. We can say that, in this case, the excursions act as a visual aid to the school subjects.

Understanding the world directly, "by touch"
On field trips, children learn new things and discover the world. But unlike in class, they can see the subject with their own eyes, see it in detail, from all sides, touch it, smell it and even taste it. What they learn is much easier to remember.

Broadening horizons
By going outside the classroom and school, children not only get a measured dose of educational material but also knowledge that was not originally part of the plan. A good teacher will also use the journey to and from the excursion site to tell the children something new about the excursion topic.

Children's communication
During the trip, children learn to communicate by asking questions of the guide. Pre-trip tasks require them to formulate precise questions. By discussing what they have seen, sharing their impressions, and summarising, they learn to speak, express their opinions, defend them, and highlight the main points. At the same time, they listen to others, compare their opinions with their own, etc. In other words, children develop communicative skills.

Socialisation of the children
On excursions, children learn the rules of behaviour in different situations. How to behave on public transport, in a museum, at the theatre, and in nature? They begin to understand that the rules of behaviour have been invented for people's comfort and safety. If there are problems with behaviour the first time, it will be easier the next time, and later these rules will become habitual.

The child forms patterns of behaviour in different situations. And he/she already feels much more confident in society. Pupils become more independent, more disciplined, and less lost in unfamiliar situations. And it is easier for them to communicate with strangers.

Development of creative skills
Impressions from the field trip should be generalised. To this end, the teacher sets creative tasks: writing an essay, drawing an illustration, creating a presentation, a photo report, a map, a wall newspaper, etc. The student should be able to choose the tasks he/she wants to do. The student should be able to choose a task according to his/her interests. And believe me, he will try to put his heart into his work.

Seeking new knowledge
The more you know, the more interesting things you discover, the more you want to learn more. The knowledge gained on the field trip can become a springboard for further study: the subject of a student's research, a project, or an interest in the subject. And in the future, it can also influence your choice of career.

Learning about real life
Field trips are a way to show children how interesting and diverse the world is. It is an opportunity to tear them away from fashionable gadgets, to pull them out of the virtual world into the real one, to teach them to see the beautiful things in the space around them, to get them interested in the past, present and future of the country and the world.

Positive emotions
A good excursion evokes a variety of feelings in children: joy of discovery, admiration of beauty, surprise, curiosity, pleasure, anticipation of new sensations, and inspiration. You will agree that in everyday life these emotions are not enough. Everything that is connected with positive emotions, including the theme of the excursion, is remembered by a person for a long time.