Going out as a family can be more than just a chore.

As a teacher, I planned and carried out field trips for my students. As a parent, I chaperoned and financed school field trips for my children. But I can see that if I had treated our family trips as field trips, we all could have had a much more rewarding experience.

I would have started with a purpose for an otherwise routine trip. When they were toddlers, maybe a routine trip to the grocery store would include looking for orange things or a certain number in a price. When they were in grade school, maybe they would be given a shopping list to read and locate items. Maybe when they were in high school, they were to find the most economical choice. Finding a secondary purpose for a routine trip makes it more interesting and educational for everyone.

I would have included preparation time for other family trips. For a trip to an athletic event, we might have had a family night where we learned about the sport or the team. If it were a professional team, we could have learned about some of the star players. If it were a family member's team, we could have thought of ways to support the team with a cheer or snacks. Even if everyone's not on board for a particular event, it can take on meaning if everyone has even a small amount of knowledge.

I would have researched the places we were traveling and shared it with the family. If we were going to an amusement park, we could have talked about the rides and shows we hoped to see, and devise plans so that everyone could have a memorable experience. If we were going to visit relatives in another location, we could learn about that location, and the things we might see along the way. We would discuss how we were traveling and list activities we would do to pass the travel time. Traveling with a family can be a nightmare or an adventure, but by letting everyone plan in advance, some of the possible calamities and meltdowns might be avoided.

Finally, we would have had regular family meetings on potential major family field trip ideas. We should have discussed where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go, and what we wanted to do. We would have discussed budgets and time management and listened to everyone's ideas. We would have created a family field trip binder where we validated everyone's ideas by keeping them open as options. As circumstances and opinions changed, so would our binder, which would always be a work in progress.

Family trips are a great time to be together. Family field trips can be as simple as a trip to the grocery store, as educational as a visit to the local zoo, as long as a car ride to a family reunion, or as grand as a long - awaited summer trip to the beach. By planning together, each trip can become what we really want it to be - a special time with those we love.

About the Author:

Luanne Davidson is the proud mother of three adult children and wonders what might have been if she had done a thing or two differently. She writes her "Coulda, Woudla, Shoulda" column each Thursday.

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