13 Cheap Family Vacations to Take This Winter
Not every trip has to be expensive! You can book cheap family vacations this winter, by thinking outside the box and choosing one of these options.
It’s back-to-school season! Like most parents, you’re juggling supply lists, early morning routines, and having to find the lunchboxes hidden somewhere in June. But before starting juggling the crazy school-year routine, there’s an opportunity to sneak in a new back-to-school tradition. One that just so happens to double as an educational experience.
Here are field trip ideas that can replace amusement parks and ease the kids into learning, while you get quality time before sending them off to school.
Getting up early (similar to your school days) for a field trip is like a soft reboot for kids. They get the stimulation of new places without the pressure of a classroom, helping them shift gears from summer mode to school mode. A big bonus: fewer battles over bedtime after a day exploring.
Counting change at a museum gift shop? It’s math. Identifying plants at a state park? It’s science. Reading a menu at a local café? Here goes some reading time. All outings encourage real-world problem-solving and can reactivate their brain to be ready for school. Add more educational places, like a museum for fine art, and you have the full curriculum covered!
School mornings can get… tense. (Who knew shoes could disappear into another dimension?) A few final family outings before the calendar fills up give you shared memories to talk about when everyone’s back in the weekday grind.
Science museums or history museums are super educational. But we recommend choosing ones with hands-on exhibits so the kids can experiment learning in a more interactive way. You’ll be surprised how much they absorb when they have fun. This can help them spark new interests and love for materials that they might have found boring at school last year.
Botanical gardens and nature centers are filled with outdoor education opportunities. From learning about the diverse ecosystem, to conservation and microbiology, kids can learn more in a few hours onsite than they will in the classroom. Let the textbook reinforce knowledge they already acquired while touching, smelling, and experiencing in real life the plants and animals of said ecosystems.
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When you take your kids to a farm or a pick-your-own experience, they learn about growing seasons, food sources, human needs, and responsibility. Many of these spots also have barnyard, tying a whole science class together with fun. We recommend this especially for early elementary since it is part of the grade 1-3 curriculum.
These community field trips are perfect for pre-K students. They get to see how society runs thanks to the different roles, and parents sneak in mini-lessons on safety. If you can’t arrange a tour before school starts, check out museums that have pretend play and different jobs as part of their exhibits.
Wildlife preserves and national/state parks are great for outdoor adventures. And if you bring binoculars or a journal, you can turn the hike into a learning experience. You can also look for educational programs like the ranger program in the U.S national parks. This can be a huge motivator for kids to put down their screens throughout the year, to fill up their national parks passport.
Kids who think they “don’t like science” just haven’t launched a mini rocket or built a robot yet. Look for science centers or space museums with activities geared toward students of different ages. Hands-on learning is THE best way to introduce your kids to a new interest for the coming year.
Turn your neighborhood (or city) into an open-air art gallery. Something FREE and easy to do is to go for a walk to discover local street art. Try to find giant murals, sculptures, and hidden mini-art tucked into alleyways. Bring along a camera or sketchpad so they can “capture” their favorite art piece.
Art field trips are important! If you want some indoor fun for the day, bring the whole family to an art museum. They often have interactive exhibits for kids, scavenger hunts, and even hands-on craft corners. You can even add a stop at a local art studio on the way home, to show your kids that art isn’t just in books.
Local cultural heritage is a big part of the curriculum for elementary children, and visiting sites will be a much more efficient way to learn than through textbooks. Take the kids to your local indigenous museums, museums about migrations, visit a site where historical events took place, or visit memorials about important leaders of historical movements. It’s also a favorite homeschool field trip idea for broadening awareness.
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Libraries aren’t just for books. Many host educational programs like coding, robotics, language workshops, and more. For elementary-aged kids, there are tons of opportunities to let kids be independent inside the library, and for little ones, story times are great ideas to help with language development and socialization, ahead of entering the school system.
Zoos and aquariums are a goldmine for educational experiences. Kids can learn about marine ecosystems, food chains, and conservation in a way no textbook can teach them. Interactive exhibits like touch tanks are perfect for little ones learning through sensory input.
Forts and battlefields mix history museums with outdoor adventures. With reenactments, guided tours, and interactive exhibits, kids can try on period clothing or practice old trades. While they run around and explore, they are secretly soaking up history lessons they will be covering this year.
Use the app to help plan for kids’ activities with different ages or accommodate special needs. GoWhee’s filters help you narrow down destinations so you’re not stuck scrolling for hours.
Forget the vague “It was nice” online reviews. GoWhee offers parent-written insider tips that tell you if the park has clean restrooms, if the trail has shade, if the museum has a changing table onsite, and more.
Involve the kids and make “back-to-school” trips a new tradition! Unlike other online resources, kids can browse and save places they want to visit straight in the GoWhee app. The app is also a private community of parents, so it is pretty safe to use, and not as open as Google Maps.
Back-to-school doesn’t have to be boring and stressful. This new transition hack can give you a last-minute quality time as a family, while showing kids that learning can be fun and done without textbooks.
Not every trip has to be expensive! You can book cheap family vacations this winter, by thinking outside the box and choosing one of these options.
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