Plan ahead:
*Take the trip first yourself to assure safety, age appropriateness, timing, cooperation with owner or operator concerned, toileting facility access, fees, find out it there is a limit to how many children can be in a group, etc
*Consider the length of time required for both transportation and the visit itself.  Is the trip too long for the age of the children?  Will they get too tired?  Will it interfere with routines for eating and resting?
*Ask yourself, "Have the children been together long enough to respond to a group situation and group direction?"
*Plan trips for midweek.  Monday's aren't good because there's no previous day for preparation.  Fridays aren't good because there's no time for "memories."  Plan early in the day when no one is tired.

Permission Slips: Never take a child on a trip without parental/guardian permission.  You can easily create your own permission slip forms to be sent home with children for parents to fill out and return in advance of the trip.  The form should include a description of the trip, why you feel it's beneficial, form of travel, time leaving, return time, what the child will need, etc.  Create your form in a way that parents can simply sign the bottom half but keep the other half with all the information on it.  Also provide a space titled "Do you have concerns?" where parents can write in anything of importance to them.  And provide a space where they can sign up to drive as well as write down how many children they can take (include a reminder about how each child must be securely buckled into his/her own seat belt or age/weight approved booster seats -- and in the back seat of the vehicle).  
 
Send permission slips home about one week in advance of the trip. 
 
Trips should have a purpose related to the children's interest, information they can use, and/or ideas they can grasp.

Good reasons for going are:
*To have the fun of going away and coming back (children get experience in adapting to a change in routine)
*To get first-hand information (experience the real thing -- make a subject concrete)
*Add new information to what is known already
*To acquire or reinforce concepts, or to correct misconceptions

The younger the children, the shorter the trip:
For young fours:
How far? Several blocks on foot or about 10 minutes by car
How long? 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, returning well before children get tired (like spur of the moment trips such as going to gather twigs for a collage, or to discover happenings in the neighborhood such as a building going up) 
For older fours and young fives:
How far? In the community and nearby areas, generally not more than several miles away
How long?
1. An hour or more if the children can be active (like walking to a nearby park to play or going on a picnic)
2. Less than an hour away from the center if children are only to look and listen and not wander (like a dental office or airport)
 
Shortly before the trip:
*Plan with the children, but avoid talking about it so much you give away all the surprises
*Certain plans should be decided, again with the children, ahead of time for everyone's security, such as how you will travel, how to cross streets if you will be doing that, waiting for the adult when getting out of the car, discussing the importance of staying together and why.  But don't stress rules to the point of creating anxiety.
*Discuss appropriate clothing (some groups wear school T-shirts)

Here's something you can do before school starts in the fall that does double duty service: Create laminated name tags for the children.  On the back of each, write the name of the school and the school address and phone number.  These are great little name tags for those first few weeks when you're trying to learn everyone's name, then after that, they can be collected and saved for field trips.

On the day of the trip:
*Make sure each child has a buddy
*When assigning vehicles, give parents their own child plus the child's friend(s).  Place children who may have behavior problems with a teacher or someone who knows that child and is able to handle situations that may arise.
*Here's a name tag idea I personally like: On the day of the trip, give Mrs. Jones and her carload red circle name tags and Mrs. Evans and her carload blue name tags.  This way, drivers and children can better keep track of each other.
*The following are either items I have taken on field trips or items I've observed other teachers/directors take that I thought were good ideas:
First Aid Kit
Tissues
Cell phone
Permit slips
Emergency phone numbers for all children
Wet wipes for washing hands

Adult reminders for a trip with young children:
*Keep a responsible eye on your own group and don't rely on the teacher/director to do it all
*Count heads or check for the color-coded name tags frequently.  Know where everyone in your group is at all times.
*Show an interest and pleasure in the trip.  Use travel time to sing songs and encourage conversation.  React to what's going on (colors, sounds, etc) -- wonder with the children
*Be prepared for diversions as children get sidetracked easily and their attention wanders

After the trip:
Children need time to digest new experiences.  You may not see immediate results of a trip.  Watch them.  They may begin to enjoy related experiences through their dramatic play or drawings.  Keep an eye open for related books and pictures.  "Props" for dramatic play can enrich a field trip experience (fire hats and hoses for firefighter play, for example).

In a nutshell, whether it be before, during, or after a field trip, let the w's guide you: who, what, when, where, why

From Lisa
Have one or two parents handle the field trips.  This means that once the field trip notices go out, the designated parents will follow up to collect any needed money, permission slips, see who's going, who will drive, etc.

From DeAnna Lee Bumgarner Lovette
My daycare is a member of a local child care association.  We all take field trips together.  It saves money because we get school rates (meaning the teachers are free).  Also, when we go on our trips, we all wear the same bright colored t-shirts we have printed up.  (This makes it easy to spot a child who may wander!)

From Maria
When we have a field trip, I collect permission slips a few days in advance.  I use a copy of my sign-in sheet and highlight the children's names as they bring in the slips.  I also keep the slips in alphabetical order so that in case of an emergency, I'm not fumbling through them looking for the right slip.

From Barb
For our field trips and/or First Aid Kits, we also take about 4 gallon-sized zippered food storage bags.  They come in handy for trash, contaminated waste, or if a child gets sick, etc.

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Reminder from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards."  Click here to check them out.